The Miracle II
by Sarah Charlotte
Summary: ...i suck at summaries...just read to find out...but please R/R...finally complete!!
1. Guess Who's Back?

It'd been a long, long time since Morgan Mendoza had stepped foot in Vista View Apartments - or New York at least. She'd been living in Los Angeles, California for two years. She was twenty-four years old, having her birthday a few days ago. She'd celebrated with a couple of friends but hadn't had time for anything.  
  
Now, she was moving back to New York, not because of business, but because of choice. She just liked New York better.  
  
Something vague was in her past, though, as she walked into the Digital Hang-out. Something she remembered. As she sipped her double latté with skim milk, she tried to remember.  
  
A curly-headed guy was all she remembered. A curly-headed guy, and a really cute guy who was in love with someone with ovarian cancer, she remembered that. Why couldn't she remember? Two years, that's long enough to remember people.  
  
But there were a lot of people in New York, and she saw a lot of them. But who were they?  
  
A curly-headed guy came into the Digital Hang-Out. Morgan didn't see him, he didn't see Morgan. But they both felt something weird - like there was a presence. A presence of someone important.  
  
If you asked Morgan now, she wouldn't know. She didn't even know then. But something made her turn around - like someone tapping her on the shoulder. When she did, she saw him.  
  
At the same exact moment, he saw her, and for a split-second, their eyes met and it was like in those cartoons when there's some weird zapping laser thing that connects their eyes. They couldn't take their eyes off each other.  
  
But after that split-second, he turned to order and she turned around to her double latté. But who was he? She knew him but she couldn't place it.  
  
She turned around again and he was looking at her. "Turn around," was her first instinct, but she ignored it and instead listened to the voices in her head. "Keep looking," the voices said.  
  
So she did. She smiled at him. That smile was the exact thing, the thing that did it. He remembered that smile. He knew who she was. She was Morgan Mendoza.  
  
"Oh, God, he's coming to my table!" she thought to herself. "Just pretend you.can't hear him." That was the best thing she could think of?  
  
"Morgan Mendoza?" he asked. "Yeah?" Stupid idiot, she thought. Anyone else would just go with the plan. But I can't. She couldn't - didn't - wouldn't look up. She refused to.  
  
"Hi, don't you remember me?" She looked up finally. Just pretend you do, even though you don't.  
  
"Yeah, I remember you! Hi!" she said. It was too fake because he sat down across from her. "You don't remember me, do you?" he said, deflated.  
  
"Sorry, I've seen a lot of people within the past two years," she told him apologetically. "If you tell me your name, I'm sure I'll remember you."  
  
"Cory Matthews," he said. "Oh my God! I DO remember you! Cory Matthews? That's a name I haven't heard in a long time."  
  
"How long?" he asked. "A very long time." She replied solemnly. "So how's it been in L.A.? Designed anything for Jennifer Aniston? Better yet, what are you doing back here?"  
  
She laughed. "Well actually yeah, I've been really successful, but I decided to come back. I like New York better."  
  
He smiled. "Still got the turquoise convertible?" This made her sad and happy at the same time. Sad that he cared about her so much he remembered, and happy because - heck, he remembered and she didn't expect anyone to! "Yeah, I do! How do you think I got here, flying?"  
  
He gave her a look. "Like most normal people, yeah, I did." They smiled at each other. "I'm glad your back. I really, really am."  
  
What was she supposed to say? She couldn't lie to him. "Me too." But what did he mean by "really, really am"? Did he mean.no; she was just being stupid. Being in L.A., you have to be on your toes, especially if you're as beautiful as Morgan was.  
  
"So how's Topanga?" Morgan asked. "Oh, well, she.she's.she's doing okay," Cory said. "No, tell me the truth. So how's Topanga?"  
  
He looked at her with a look that melts your heart because you feel sorry for him - he just looked so sad. "She's in Seattle right now. Business. I haven't seen her in two months."  
  
Morgan didn't believe what she was hearing. "Two months? Who's gone on business for two months?" Then Morgan got it.  
  
"That's just it, I don't know!" he said, exasperated. "I don't know if she'll come back."  
  
Morgan put her hand on his. "Yes, she will. You just have to believe she will, and she will. Besides, I'm here now. I'm going to butt in as usual and take matters into my own hands. And you will be so sorry that I'm here you won't be really, really glad anymore." She smiled and they both laughed.  
  
Back at Morgan's newly furnished apartment, she and Cory looked up Topanga's hotel number. Morgan picked up the phone and dialed it.  
  
"Hi, is a Mrs. Topanga Matthews there?" she asked. "Oh, really? Okay. Yeah, I see. Huh? You've got to be joking. Morgan Mendoza. Oh, my gosh! That's so cool! How's Kim? Is she okay?" Cory cleared his throat; obviously employing Morgan should shut up. "Okay, just wondering. Yeah, yeah, no, tell her a Cory Matthews called. Uh huh. Yeah they've been in love their entire loves. Kinda like you and Tom.anyway.see you then. Bye." She hung up the phone. "Apparently she won't be in until nine tonight. And she's been gone for two months because she found a new romance and isn't under the name Topanga Matthews anymore, it's under the name Topanga Cory is SUCH an Idiot."  
  
Cory looked confused. "Whoa," he said. "Yeah, Cory, duh!" she told him. "Imagine going through your entire life with a last name like Cory is such an idiot. Hey!" he said understanding.  
  
"I don't know why she's been gone for two months but heck, she certainly isn't in love with another guy." "Well, you know those Seattle types," he told her. "Who knows who she found?"  
  
Morgan rolled her eyes. "Listen, you think Topanga could fall in love with anyone but you?"  
  
"I don't know right now, what are you planning on doing that would teach me some sort of lesson about how much Topanga and I love each other?" he asked.  
  
"I'm not planning any sort of lesson," she said, confused. "What I'm planning is.absolutely nothing." She said, giving up. "You know, who was I kidding, coming to New York? I don't have anything except a vague past that no one knows. I'm just a loser who runs away every time she's afraid. I had no business coming here. I might as well just go back to L.A., no one wants me anywhere I go."  
  
And without any warning, without any second thoughts, Cory kissed Morgan this time. When they pulled back finally, they looked at each other.  
  
"Why'd we do this, Cory?" she asked. "I don't know," he admitted. "We need to.to.just forget this ever happened." She said. Forget forgetting.Cory kissed Morgan a second time. When it was finally over, they stared at each other for a long time. "What are we doing? I mean what does it mean?" She asked. She was partly asking herself, not Cory, but he answered anyway.  
  
"I don't know," he said honestly. "Well that sucks! Neither do I!" she told him, irritated. Her cell phone rang at that moment, almost on cue. "Hello?" she said, answering it. "Oh my God, you're kidding. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. I feel so bad! Oh, no! Well, thank you. No, that's not a good idea." She handed the phone to Cory, who raised an eyebrow at her. "Take it, you need to hear this."  
  
He reluctantly took the phone and listened to the news. He gave the phone back to Morgan and stared at her. Morgan hung up. He sat down on the couch.  
  
"I didn't even say goodbye," Cory said. "It's okay," she said, sitting down next to him. "You can cry."  
  
They hugged each other and cried for a long, long time. Once they couldn't cry anymore, they pulled back and looked at each other. "I didn't even say goodbye to her," he repeated. "That's okay, she knows you love her." He shook his head. "No, that's not it," he said. "I just feel like.like now that she's gone.I don't love her as much."  
  
She tried to understand this, but couldn't. "I've never been in love," she said. "So I wouldn't know. I've just read about it."  
  
He looked at her. "You think you could still fall in love?" he asked her. "I don't know, I think that ship has sailed."  
  
He shook his head again. "No, no, I don't think so." They looked at each other for a long time, trying to understand what each other was feeling - and if I do say so, I think they did a pretty good job of it.  
  
"She looks beautiful," Cory whispered to Shawn. Shawn looked at Morgan. "I guess so. I'm not really one to judge." He said.  
  
That was true. Ever since Shawn and Angela had gotten married after Morgan left, Shawn didn't really say anything about other girls.  
  
Morgan DID look beautiful. She was wearing a black off-the-shoulder dress. She wasn't wearing a hat like most of the fancy ladies there, but she had curled her hair and let it hang loosely. She'd curled it in just the right places. Everything about her looked so right - even her lip-gloss looked brilliant.  
  
"Are you going to find someone else, with Topanga gone?" Shawn asked. "I don't want to think about that right now," he said staring at Morgan. It started to rain then. But it wasn't rain - it was a total storm. Morgan screamed when there was a clap of thunder, and Cory rushed over there to take care of her.  
  
"I don't know, Shawn," he said to Shawn. "I just feel like this is right." 


	2. The Secret

"I feel so bad! I mean your baby sister was so cute in the pictures," Morgan said truthfully. "I don't feel right here. I didn't know her. Everyone's staring at me. They don't think I should be here, that's totally what they're thinking."  
  
"Please don't be a brat about this," Cory begged her. "After all, I know you aren't." She smiled and raised an eyebrow at him to this. "I'm not? Really, cause everyone thinks I am since I lived in L.A. for so long."  
  
"Two years isn't that long," Cory told her. "It was really long for me. You know? I mean I didn't fit in. Maybe that's why I came back. I, I feel like I fit in here, you know?" Morgan said. She didn't know really what to say, so the "you know" parts really helped her add stuff to say.  
  
It was still raining and everyone was packed into the Digital Hang- Out. It was sort of weird; the only people in there other than the people in mourning were annoying optimists who were dressed in pastels.  
  
"Oh, are you two a couple? Aren't you Amy's little boy? She would have been so proud to know you two were a couple. You make the cutest I've ever seen personally," an old woman said. "Thanks, but." Morgan tried to tell her the truth, but Cory stepped on her foot. "Yeah, we are. I'm sure she would be. Thank you so much."  
  
"Why'd you do that?" Morgan asked. "Why'd you lie to her?"  
  
"I didn't think you'd mind. Besides, Topanga isn't here. I told her, but Topanga's not here. You are, though. Despite a little complaint, at least you came."  
  
What was he trying to say? Morgan thought. Was he trying to say that she was better than Topanga? Morgan admired Topanga, so if he was saying what Morgan thought he was saying, she sure appreciated it.  
  
When they were finally allowed to go home (finally), Morgan sighed as she got into jeans. No one else she knew would wear black for two months, so neither should she. Plus, she would be going to bed in thirty minutes, so what was the point?  
  
It was still raining, but not as hard. It was drizzling but Morgan thought it might get harder. She loved rain. Absolutely loved it. She didn't know why. Maybe because it was a sunny day when the only people she cared about died. Or maybe it was because the rain just made her feel at home for some strange reason. It was calming to her.  
  
She couldn't sleep, so she sat awake, designing for hours. She had only designed five outfits before she realized it was almost three am. She decided to go to the lobby for coffee. After all, she knew they served it.  
  
Maybe it was because she was wearing hip huggers and a tight spaghetti tank, but it seemed like the freaks and weirdos who were still awake kept looking at her. "Shut up," she said. "Don't look at me like that."  
  
She fixed herself coffee and sat down. Everyone left (they were done anyway) and she was alone. It was kind of creepy.  
  
"Morgan! What are you doing here?" he asked when he saw her. "Couldn't sleep. What's your excuse?" she asked.  
  
"Me neither. I don't know what it was." He said. "I can usually sleep during the rain. I love rain."  
  
"Really? That's so cool! Me too!" she said. "Topanga doesn't," he told her. "You gotta get over Topanga. She's coming home."  
  
"I know," he said sadly. "Why are you so sad? Most people I know would be happy if they knew someone they loved was coming home."  
  
Cory sat at her table, trying to think of a way to explain. He wanted it to be subtle, yet obvious. Not so blatant but obvious in a way that he might love her instead of Topanga.  
  
"You know how sometimes you think you feel one way about something, but then something else happens, and you feel definitely about it?"  
  
"Mmm, yeah, but I don't think it's the same thing you're talking about. Like, I used to love Nutter Butters. But then I tried Oreos with peanut butter, and I like that a lot better. But by your seriousness, that's probably nothing what you're talking about."  
  
"It's close," he offered not wanting to make her feel totally stupid. "But I was talking more about emotions."  
  
"Emotions. Yeah, yeah, I've felt that," she said. "Really? How?" he said, suddenly interested.  
  
"Mm, there was this guy. Well, he's still alive. But you know. Turns out he has a girl in his life and he doesn't need me at all. Still, you know he's pretty nice to me. But hey, I guess you can't really blame him can you."  
  
"Were you talking about me?" he asked her. She just looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Are you still in love with him?" he asked.  
  
She nodded slowly. "I guess. I mean no matter what happens, you still feel the same way about a person. Or at least, I guess you could. Things might change."  
  
"I thought you said you'd never been in love," he told her. "Well, I guess I sort of didn't want to admit it. You know, it's really stupid and all."  
  
"I don't think it is," he told her. "I think it's really interesting. Morgan Mendoza, in love with someone. Imagine that. What's his name?"  
  
Okay, he'd backed her into a wall and cornered her. "It doesn't really matter, does it? Besides, he's not exactly the best guy in the world, so if I told you his name, it would really cause controversy. He's sort of in the witness protection program, but you didn't hear it from me." They both laughed softly. "You don't believe me, do you?"  
  
"No, but I want to," he said. "You're going to kiss me now, aren't you?" she asked him. "Uh-huh," he said. Need I go into more details?  
  
As Morgan finally went to sleep, she wasn't sure what was going on. She thought Cory was in love with Topanga. But if he was, how come he'd kissed her three times already? Or four, if you counted the time two years ago, but Morgan wasn't counting that at the moment.  
  
Cory too was wrestling with his feelings. He couldn't figure out what was going on. But one thing was serious; he wasn't going to wait around for Topanga to come home from her "business trip" in Seattle. He was going to get on with his life, like he hoped she had.  
  
Morgan didn't know what time it was in Seattle, but she most certainly hoped it wasn't 3 am. She called the hotel anyway. They said Topanga was staying in room A1302. That was funny, the smeared number she'd written down on the napkin said A1303. What did that mean?  
  
Why did Cory feel like he was in love with Morgan instead? Well, she was nice, she was sweet, she knew a lot of weird and interesting trivia, she had talent, she was adorable, she had a heart-melting smile, she loved animals, she had style, he felt like he could talk to her about anything, and she was beautiful. But.Topanga was most of those things. Or at least, he thought she was. But what kind of person goes on a business trip and never comes back? Morgan came back, Topanga didn't. This was all coming clear now.  
  
The next day, Morgan tried to avoid Cory. But she decided she had to tell him what she found out. "Cory I called the hospital last night! They said Topanga was staying in a completely different room."  
  
"Which one?" he asked. "One before hers. A1302. They said the person who was staying there was under the name of Roberts, but hey, you know, it could be anybody." Morgan explained, not wanting to jump to conclusions before she got a chance to know the real story.  
  
"Oh, okay, thanks," Cory, said. "What's the matter? It seems like weren't paying attention at all." Morgan wondered.  
  
"I'm kind of preoccupied right now," he explained. "Oh, with what?" she asked. "With.stuff. Stuff you probably could care less about." He told her.  
  
"I care about stuff," she said in her defense. "I know you do, but, it's hard to explain, you know?" He didn't know how to explain it, so that wasn't a total lie.  
  
He was lucky - she understood. "Okay, well, see you later, then." She walked off, completely confused. She understood the hard-to-explain part, but she didn't know what was so hard to explain.  
  
She tried four times to reach Topanga, and when she finally did, she was nervous. "Hi, Topanga? Yeah, I've been trying to reach you. Where are you? Cory's been wondering when you'll come home. Hmm, Will Roberts, huh. Okay, well, I'll tell him. Yeah.okay.well, have a nice life, okay.yeah, bye."  
  
Topanga Lawrence-Matthews-Roberts. But wait. There was a law against polygamy or something like that wasn't there.  
  
Morgan headed down to Shawn's apartment faster than she ever had walked anywhere in her life. "What have you been hiding from Cory?" she said when he answered the door.  
  
"So you found out, huh." He said. It wasn't a question. "Yes, I did, and I think whatever you've been hiding isn't exactly what I'd call best- friend-material. What have you been hiding from Cory?" Morgan asked.  
  
"I think you already know," Shawn told her. "I want you to tell me what you've been hiding from Cory!"  
  
"I truthfully don't know," he said. "Really, huh. Well then does the name Will Roberts mean anything to you?"  
  
Shawn studied Morgan for a long time, but she kept her ground. "Come in," he sighed finally. He let her in and took out a box. "I've been hiding these for awhile because I thought she'd change her mind, but I guess not."  
  
He pulled the box out and inside was a lifetime of paperwork. "He has to fill all these out? If they have to fill all this stuff out, then why does everyone get divorced? Don't they ever get writer's cramp?" Morgan asked, flipping through the papers.  
  
"They don't have to fill all of them out," Shawn told her, "just sign something, I think. I've been trying to figure it out without letting Angela know, but I just can't.  
  
"I'm going to show these to him," she said. "I'm going to, and I will." She took the entire shoebox and walked out of the door with it.  
  
Shawn didn't even try to stop her. There was nothing anyone could do to her now. 


	3. More Than Friends?

*Sorry for the lateness of it all, I've been really busy! - Sarah Charlotte  
It was a Friday night and it was still rainy. However, Morgan sang to the radio as she got ready for her date. She was excited - some guy named Mike had asked her out on date. He was taking her to some Chinese restaurant. Morgan hated Chinese, but she thought the guy might be pretty nice, so she decided to go. Besides, she could order something and pick at it or cut it up to make it look eaten. Mike didn't seem overly intelligent, so she decided not to worry about it.  
  
"Hey, Morgan, what are you doing tonight?" Cory asked her. They asked each other this question every single night, but neither of them ever had anything to do. "Oh, nothing. Well, I met this guy, named Mike. Well, we're going to Café Goo-Goo Yen, or something like that."  
  
"I thought you hated Chinese," he said. "Well, I do, but hey. This guy dips cones at the local Dairy Freeze. I'm only going out with him because he's cute."  
  
"That's not a good reason to go out with a guy," Cory told her. "I know, but I mean, it's a Friday night. The only thing I could do is go see the new movie at the dollar theatre or some Tracey Gold movie at The Screening Room."  
  
"Yeah, okay, but when you're back, come to my apartment, okay? I need some help writing this thing.and I know you're a good writer." That wasn't true, but he had to use it. He wanted to see how Morgan's date was, really.  
  
"I know you want to know how my date went, but okay. Well, see you later. Bye," she said as she flounced off. He detected a scent of citronella - or was it vanilla? He couldn't tell, but whatever it was, he had smelled it on Topanga before. "Have fun," he said, disappointed. "I know I won't."  
  
Well, Cory may have wished her to have fun, but she sure didn't. As soon as she entered the apartment, she through her jacket down on the chair, and her purse went with it. "Did you have fun?" Cory asked. He and Shawn were sitting watching some old movie.  
  
"Oh, yeah, lots of it," Morgan said sarcastically. "Is Mike nice?" Shawn asked. "No, he's a total jerk! When we got there all he wanted to do was tell me about his past girlfriends, and how much he loved himself. All the things he'd done with his life. And he never once asked me about myself. Cory, am I a vegetarian or do I eat meat?"  
  
"You're a vegetarian," he said, surprised. "Shawn, what do you think I am?" she asked him. "A vegetarian." He replied.  
  
"Exactly! I am! But he never once bothered to ask me what I wanted, he just ordered me some meat plate!"  
  
"I thought you said you had fun," Shawn said slowly. "Shawn, didn't you detect the sarcasm? It would do you good. Ugh! What, are there no dateable guys in New York or something? Not that I've seen any anywhere else, but still. You'd think New York would have at least two million guys to choose from. But no, I go out with Mike. The most self-absorbed guy in New York! I would like to meet some guy that's cute, funny, knows a lot about me, cares about me, and is sensitive. Also that knows I'm a vegetarian."  
  
She sat on the couch. "So what are you watching?" she asked. "A documentary on coleslaw," Shawn said fast, changing the channel. "No, change it back, what were you watching, seriously! That looks awesome!"  
  
Cory and Shawn looked surprised. "What, I've been out with a guy who cares about himself only. Even an old violent movie is more interesting than Mike's Life Story."  
  
Cory laughed to himself. She was amazing. She didn't deserve someone like Mike who only cared about himself. She deserved someone like.someone more like the guy she'd imagined.  
  
"Cory, if you want to ask Morgan out, just do it." Shawn said the minute Morgan had left.  
  
"I don't want to do anything until Topanga comes back," Cory said. "And what if she doesn't? Do you really want to waste your life like that?" Shawn asked in an accusing tone.  
  
"I don't think Topanga would just leave like that, though," Cory said. "It doesn't seem real. It's almost like impossible."  
  
"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't," Shawn replied. "Oh, well. Your choice."  
  
"You don't think Topanga's coming back do you?" Cory asked. "Cory, you know I'm your best friend, and we always help each other out. But I'm helping you now by telling you that just in case she doesn't come back, it'll be okay. You'll still have Morgan."  
  
Cory sighed. He knew Morgan wouldn't like being thought of as a back up. He also Morgan wouldn't go to sleep tonight, she would stay awake listening to the radio over her headphones, because that's what she did on Fridays. He knew also that in the morning, she would get up early and go get beignets at The New Orleans Café, as well as a double latté with skim milk. He knew after she went to get beignets, she would come back, pick up her sketchbook, and head to the studio.  
  
"You're thinking about her, aren't you? See, someone's not so sure that Topanga's coming back." Shawn told him. "What? Just because I think about someone it means the other one's not coming back?" Cory asked. "No, but.look at it this way. Topanga's moving on, she's.why else do you think she would have gone to Seattle for no reason?"  
  
"There was a reason, a business trip," Cory said defensively. "Yeah, if she were transferred she'd stay for two months and longer, like Morgan. But it wasn't so she shouldn't but she has. Two whole months, Cory. Two months, she's been gone, and you still think she's coming back." Shawn shook his head and got up. "Can't leave Morgan waiting forever, you know." He said, and left.  
  
So maybe Cory couldn't leave Morgan waiting forever. But until he heard from Topanga, he wouldn't believe anything, anything at all.  
  
Cory got up early the next morning. He was going to meet Morgan at The New Orleans Café. He figured she deserved it.  
  
"Hey, Cory, what are you doing here?" she asked when he entered the café the next day. "Oh, nothing," he said, coming to her table. No one else was in the restaurant, so it was kind of deserted.  
  
"This is a cool surprise, I didn't expect to see you in a place like this." She smiled at him, and he smiled back. "Morgan, listen. Do you know anything about Topanga? Shawn does but he won't tell me, what do you know. You know you can tell me anything. Tell me what you know about her."  
  
Okay, Morgan was going to tell the truth, but not all of it. "I know she met some guy named Will Roberts and she's staying in a different hotel room now, but I don't exactly know who Will Roberts is or what he's doing there."  
  
"That's all you know?" Cory asked. "I swear," she said. Well, she was only half-lying. She didn't know who Will Roberts was or what he was doing in Seattle, but she THOUGHT they might have some sort of romantic involvement. How many married people do you know spontaneously stay in another person's hotel room?  
  
"Beignet?" She asked him, holding up a beignet. He smiled at her and took it. For that moment in time, he wished he'd never met Topanga.  
  
It started raining again. "Crap," She said. "Now I'll never get to my studio. Do you know how heavy traffic is?"  
  
"It's heavy whether or not it's raining," he mentioned. She glared at him. "Whatever, you know what I mean," she said laughing.  
  
"Listen, Morgan. Do you think you'd ever fall in love?" he asked her. She put her beignet down and rested her elbows on the table. "Mm, I think I might. You know? If I met the right guy. The right guy, who's sensitive and knows a lot about me, and makes me laugh, kind of like you, actually. And who cares a lot about me."  
  
"I care a lot about you," Cory said without thinking. "Oh, that's sweet. I care about you too, Cory." She said. She didn't get it, though.  
  
"Still, I just don't think there are enough available guys in New York anymore. The ones that are, I mean, at my age and stuff, the only ones that are, they're exactly like Mike. I don't want people like that. I want people who are different."  
  
Cory didn't understand, but he knew what she was getting at, if that makes any sense. "Can I see it?" he asked, gesturing to the sketchbook. "Oh, sure. It's nothing, though." He opened it up. Inside were drawings of dresses, skirts, shoes, purses, and tops, everything imaginable. He flipped through a couple of pages. "These are amazing!" he said.  
  
"Oh, those? That's nothing. But you know, sometimes, I guess I get tired of doing the actual designing and I just want to sketch. I don't know; I just really like art."  
  
"Yeah, obviously. Talk about talented." He said. "Oh, that's the end," she told him and he closed it and gave it back to her. "I seriously think you should be discovered."  
  
"Yeah, well. I've been with Pastor-Cohen for several years, I'd just like to be discovered by another person, that's all. I mean PC is good of course, and it has a wonderful amount of flexibility. But there are SO many amateur people at PC, I'd just like some people who discover me as more than an amateur." She explained.  
  
"Do you think you are more than an amateur?" he asked. "No," she said, smiling. "But I want to be discovered as one."  
  
They laughed. Then they went their separate ways - Morgan to her office and Cory to his. But they each met at Balducci's for their lunch break.  
  
"Oh, hey! This is weird," she announced when she saw Cory. "Yeah, I guess it is, we keep meeting each other at the same places." Morgan laughed and nodded.  
  
"Hey, what's this?" he asked, but Morgan accidentally knocked it over. It was the shoebox, the shoebox that held the papers that would determine Cory's future. As it fell on the ground, papers flew out of the box. He picked them up. "You really don't have to do that," Morgan said, grabbing them out of his hand. She tried to stuff them all in the box, but it was too late. "Trust me, I do." He had snatched a few.  
  
"Great," Morgan muttered to herself, sarcastically. "What are these?" Cory asked. "Divorce papers?" she suggested. "For who? You?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer. "Not exactly." She admitted.  
  
"Why didn't you give these to me?" he asked, disappointed. "Well, see, I didn't know about them until a few days ago. Shawn had them. But he didn't give them to you because he didn't want to hurt you. So he showed them to me and I grabbed them before he could stop me and I said I was going to show them to you. But, I mean, it was easier said than done. It was almost like, I thought if I kept them from you, it would preserve your and Topanga's relationship. I don't know. I guess it was stupid. I'm sorry. I'll leave now, if you want." She said, getting up. "Why would you do that?" he asked.  
  
"I just spent all that time trying to explain it to you, and you're asking me again? Okay, I didn't -" but he interrupted her.  
  
"No, why would you leave?" he asked. "Because! I - I totally, totally ruined your entire life, didn't I." she said, not making it a question.  
  
"You didn't, Morgan, you didn't at all. I just wonder," he said, still shuffling through the papers, "why it's so important to you."  
  
"It's not," Morgan said, "but I know it's important to you. And you guys are my friends! I mean you've been with me for, like, a long time. And if not that long, it SEEMS like that long. And I care about all of you and I don't want to see you get hurt."  
  
"I - well - I'm going to talk to Shawn about this." Cory got up, without a word, taking the papers with him. Morgan stared after him confused. Shawn? What would Shawn know about divorce?  
  
"Cory, there's a dress show on the fifteenth. Do you think I should ask Morgan to come?" Angela asked him when he got in the apartment. Shawn wasn't there, but Angela was. "No, no, no, no, no!" Cory said fast. "Why, what's the matter?" Angela asked.  
  
"I think I should ask her," Cory said. "Why?" Angela asked. "Because, it's important. Please let me ask her."  
  
"Why do you want to ask her?" Angela said, laughing. "I've never seen anyone so excited about a dress show before."  
  
"Angela, if you are my friend and I know you are, you will let me ask her to this dress show." Cory said. "Okay," Angela told him, giving up and still laughing. "If you want to, here's the flyer." She gave it to him.  
  
Back at the apartment, Cory had timed it just right. Morgan was entering her apartment. "Morgan!" he said, stopping her. She turned around. "Hey, Cory, how's everything going?" she asked. Typical Morgan - putting others before herself.  
  
"Uh, fine. Listen, there's a dress show on the fifteenth. I was wondering - Angela and Shawn are going, and Shawn said he wouldn't go unless I did, well it's a long story. But - would you like to go with me, uh, us?"  
  
She stared at him awhile, as if trying to understand. "Sure," she said. "Why not? Thanks, Cory." She kissed him on the cheek and then headed inside her apartment. He looked at the flyer. It listed the designers' names in alphabetical order. Near the "M"s Angela had underlined a certain name. He looked at it. It read "Morgan Mendoza".  
  
He wondered if she knew. If she didn't, well, it would just have to be a surprise. 


	4. Surprise, Surprise

It turns out Morgan didn't know. Nobody asked her, but they still assumed that she didn't know, since she said she wasn't planning on going and EVERY designer plans on being there at their own dress show.  
  
Still, you had to admit. It was pretty cool. But they couldn't even tell her! It wasn't like Morgan hadn't been doing some experimenting on her own though. She'd called Topanga a thousand times and talked to her for hours on end, trying to get her to reconsider. But Topanga never would.  
  
The weirdest thing was, Morgan never felt bad that she had made up her mind and wouldn't change it. Well sure there were times when she felt a little bad for Cory, but she never felt like it was the worst possible thing in the world - which scared her a little. Did she really --? No, that was impossible. But the brewing disaster was just about to start. Little did any of them know that Topanga had plans, too. She had plans to come to New York and take a sneak peek at the dress show - and her seats were right behind theirs.  
  
The rain was coming down harder than ever - it seemed to be scary, but Morgan wasn't scared - but then again, she couldn't see herself, just the people whirling around her. Someone screamed - she tried to talk, but no words were coming out -  
  
"Penny for your thoughts," Angela said, handing Morgan a penny. Morgan looked up at her. "You know, I've been here for what seems like an awfully long time, and it never ceases to amaze me that even though I'm new and you've known each other longer than you've known me, you still care so much about what I'm saying and thinking and doing. Almost like - like I'm your friend."  
  
Angela sat down. It was morning, at The New York Café. So she sat down next to Morgan and sighed. "Of course you're our friend! Morgan, how could you not be? I mean, you're sweet, you're smart, you're funny, you're sure as heck talented.what's wrong with you, why don't you get that we love you?"  
  
Morgan had to laugh at that. "But I mean - I kinda came in and ruined everything. I mean, Topanga left, and." she tried to go on, but wasn't able to without Angela interrupting.  
  
"Honey, do you really think Topanga leaving was all your fault?" Angela asked. Morgan thought for a beat or two. "No, I guess not," she said. "And besides! Morgan, when you came it just really.it helped all of us. It helped me, it helped Shawn, it was. and you're just a wonderful person. You have to realize that Morgan, otherwise you'll be unhappy for the rest of your life. Do you really want that?"  
  
"I have to realize I'm a great person?" Angela nodded. "I took psychology for awhile, you really do." Angela told her. Morgan smiled at her. "Can I take the penny?" she asked. "Why not?" Angela asked her back. Morgan took it and stuck it in her purse.  
  
"By the way, why did Cory ask me to that dress show? I mean, I thought.well, I don't know, I guess, ." she didn't exactly know what to say.  
  
"Oh, well, see, Morgan, Cory's - Cory's not exactly himself since Topanga left. He's kinda, well, what I think he's doing is, is he's trying to." She didn't know how to word it correctly. "Morgan, Cory's always had Topanga. And now he doesn't, but he has you and I personally think that he thinks it's better for him. I mean, Cory really likes you."  
  
"I get that, but -" Morgan tried to say, but Angela cut her off. "No, Morgan, I mean he really, really likes you."  
  
Morgan was kind of confused. "Yeah, I mean, we're really great friends. But, I didn't tell him about the papers, so I thought he was mad at me."  
  
"He'd never be able to get mad at you," Angela told her. What Angela was telling her was scaring her. She'd never heard this kind of stuff before. What did she mean by "really, really likes you"? Plus was she just backup in case Topanga left? This made her mad, but just a little.  
  
If you had grown up around Morgan Mendoza, you would have known two things about her. One, she had always been beautiful but never had a boyfriend or a date, and two, she was very independent. She was never backup to anyone, she was always either front and center or nothing at all. Morgan Mendoza had never, ever been beneath someone - not only because her family was rich, but also because she wouldn't allow it. And if she was beneath someone, she had always fixed it. Morgan Mendoza had always gotten what she wanted, no strings attached.  
  
But as she grew up she got more mature, and she didn't fight for what she wanted as much. Therefore, she became almost a pushover. Still, in L.A., her strong, self-grasp had been gained back and she wasn't like that anymore. If Morgan Mendoza was back up to Topanga Matthews, Morgan would have to do something about it, but what?  
  
Morgan had driven herself from The New York Café, to her office, and she'd walked into her personal office without even realizing it. "Funny," she said to herself. "I guess this really is where I belong."  
  
She sat down at her desk and saw a picture. It was of her and Cory, but she couldn't remember where they were or when the picture was taken. But they looked like they were having so much fun. She smiled back at the girl smiling at her in the picture. That was Morgan Mendoza when she wasn't so confused. When everything in her life was perfect, but she wasn't that Morgan Mendoza anymore, she was different. Still, she couldn't help but feel that when she was with Cory, everything in the world was right. She got up and took plenty of more pictures down and compared them. No, she was with Cassidy in one and with her friends Lucy and Cindy in another, and in none of them was she smiling as much as she was with Cory.  
  
She logged onto her favorite website, and there was a new quiz. This one was "Are You In Love?" it was perfect for her. She took it, and it turned out - she was. But she couldn't possibly be in love with Cory. It had to be someone else. Anyone else but him.  
  
Not that she didn't want to be in love with Cory, he was a great person and she liked him a lot. But he was married, wasn't he? Oh, wait. That's what the divorce papers were for - so that he wouldn't be. But how could Topanga seriously mean that? She sounded like she did on the phone but you can't be in love with someone you're whole life and then decided "Oh, I'm just going to send the guy divorce papers". Or maybe that was just Morgan, she wouldn't ever do that to him.  
  
Tired of her thoughts and sick of the company of only herself, tired of the voices inside her head that argued constantly, she left work. Besides, she'd only been there because she had nothing else to do. Why go to work on a Friday? It's pointless, really. Besides, it wasn't like she had a deadline to meet.  
  
So she did go home. And when she did she saw Cory there, but he was sort of just standing outside, almost like he was waiting for her. When he saw her, he sort of jumped out of his little trance.  
  
"I got a call from Topanga," he said. She smiled. "Not even a hello? But seriously, what'd she say?" she asked him. "She said that she was serious about the divorce papers." He told her.  
  
"Well, I'm sorry," she apologized. "No, that's not it. I don't care that she was serious. I don't! I mean yeah I'm kind of disappointed. But that's what scares me!" he exclaimed. "I don't think I love Topanga anymore."  
  
"Well, Cory, see, it's hard to love someone when they just left you," she said, laughing. "Morgan this isn't funny!" He exclaimed. "I know it's not, I'm not kidding," she said seriously.  
  
"Who are you in love with, trust me, I won't tell anyone." She said. He looked at her. "No, I can't tell you yet."  
  
Was it her? Why wouldn't he tell her? Wasn't she honest? Did she ever leak a secret? Would he even know if she had? Thoughts presented themselves one by one, as if in a line. "Well, since you won't tell me, then how can I help you win the heart of the girl of your dreams?" she asked mysteriously.  
  
"Uhh.well.let me just tell you, she's a lot like you." A lot like Morgan was a funny description, since Morgan Mendoza was pretty original. If anyone was exactly like her, they had made it a point to copy her. But then again, it could be a coincidence.  
  
"Ah, I see. Well, if you were in love with me, which you aren't, the thing to do to win her heart would pretty much be take her to see something that has to do with clothes. I mean people like me love fashion. Like the dress show, instead of me, take her!" she said, brilliantly.  
  
"I guess I have to tell you now, huh." Cory said. Yes, Morgan thought. Cornered him and now I have him.  
  
"There's this girl at the place that I work at," he lied. But Morgan didn't know he was lying. Part of her was confused, and part of her was very, very, very disappointed. But she ignored the disappointed part and just focused on the confused part.  
  
"Okay, well, have a nice time at the dress show, then," she said softly, upset that she wouldn't go. "No, but I want you to go!" Cory told her. "Okay," she agreed. "Then I'll be there."  
  
After that experience, Cory just had to talk to Shawn. But if you wanted Shawn, you'd have to get Angela along with him. So Cory was forced to explain his problems to his best friend, and his best friend's wife.  
  
"I just don't know who to pick," Cory said. "It doesn't have to be a pick-and-choose thing, Cory. I mean obviously Topanga's moved on. What other choices do you have? I mean Topanga's a great person. But I really like Morgan," Angela explained.  
  
"I do too," Shawn admitted. "Yeah, I know! Me too! That's what scares me! It feels wrong! But at the same time, it feels exactly right." Cory said.  
  
"I know what you mean," Shawn told him. "Really?" Cory asked. Shawn shook his head. "But I can try." Shawn explained.  
  
"Listen, here's what I say you do. You tell Morgan how you feel! I'm sure she feels the same way," Angela said. "Plus, girls like guys who are just blatant and open and honest with them. If you keep lying to her like this, who knows what could happen? You might not just lose Topanga, you might lose Morgan too."  
  
"I'm afraid Morgan doesn't feel the same way," Cory told them. "Trust me," Angela said. "This should seriously work."  
  
So Cory loved Morgan now, but how was he supposed to tell her? "Maybe it won't be so bad after all," Cory told himself. "Maybe. Just maybe."  
  
Two weeks later, they were at the dress show. Morgan looked beautiful in a black dress that she hadn't designed herself, but wished she had. This was probably the first time Cory had seen her in another designer's clothes.  
  
All four of them headed to the dress show laughing and talking. But Morgan thought she saw Topanga enter the place where the show was being held. She sort of hung back to talk to Angela, hoping Shawn wouldn't overhear. Luckily, he had sped up to talk to Cory, so Shawn and Morgan kind of took each other's places.  
  
"Angela, see over there? Is that Topanga?" Morgan asked, pointing. "No, I don't think so," Angela replied. "Besides, Topanga's in Seattle. She wouldn't fly all the way over here to see some stupid dress show. I know her, I know she wouldn't." Angela reassured Morgan. But Morgan couldn't help feeling a little unsure.  
  
As they entered the place, they took their seats. But Morgan saw Topanga again and pointed her out to Angela. "I told you! It's not possible. Topanga would not come down all the way from Seattle to a dress show. Besides, she would freak out if she saw you and Cory here together. She's right behind me isn't she?" Angela asked. "Turning around would only confirm she's behind me."  
  
Angela did so, and Topanga was sitting right there. But she hadn't heard, which was probably good for Angela and Morgan. Angela snapped her head around very quickly so that Topanga wouldn't see her looking at her.  
  
Morgan, unfortunately, wasn't as quick and Topanga saw her. "Hello, Morgan. I hope what I did for you and Cory was beneficial," she said, coldly. "Ooh, you just got iced," Angela told Morgan, using a term Morgan had taught everyone. Iced simply meant someone had just said something cold.  
  
"What did you do for us?" Morgan asked slowly. Topanga pulled her out of the place and stood outside to talk to her. "Why do you think I sent the papers? Not only because of Will who is the love of my life, but because - Morgan, come on. I know he loves you. And you love him to. By sending the papers, I was only doing the right thing for all of us." Topanga looked at her. "He says you're a lot like me."  
  
"I'm not trying to replace you," Morgan said. "I know you're not, and I don't want you to. But I want Cory to be happy, and obviously it doesn't work unless we're both happy. And I'm happy now! We're all happy. Don't you see I did the right thing?" she asked.  
  
"I'm not trying to replace you," Morgan repeated firmly. "I know," Topanga said. "I know. But Cory loves you. Can you get that? I hope so, because if not, I just got divorced with someone for nothing. Please take my place. Cory needs you," Topanga mentioned. "Don't say anything, just get inside. You need to see this." She finished and ushered Morgan inside.  
  
So they walked inside and took their places. "And now, our beginning designer has proved to be full of talent. We're here to show you some of New York's own designer, Morgan Mendoza." The announcer - well, announced.  
  
Morgan looked at Cory suspiciously. He just smiled. And the models walked out on stage wearing Morgan's dresses and Morgan's skirts and Morgan's boots and Morgan's designs.  
  
And no, it wasn't the most romantic place in the world. But the kiss that Cory and Morgan shared made Morgan miss the last of her fashions. And you know what?  
  
No one - not Will, not Topanga, not Shawn, not Angela, not Cory, not Morgan - no one cared that Cory and Morgan had fallen deeply in love.  
  
And once they broke apart, Morgan whispered, "If this is a dream, God, I don't ever want to wake up."  
  
But once they left, everything fell apart.  
  
*This isn't the end - there will be much more - but it just seems like it is the end. But it's not so don't even think it is because there will be so much more! Please R/R, I really appreciate your comments! - Sarah Charlotte 


	5. Feeling Like an Idiot

"So let me get this straight. You did this for us?" Cory asked Topanga. It was the first time they'd talked for more than five minutes, and conversation was really flowing.  
  
"Yes," Topanga replied. "I did it for you two." Cory was still confused. "Did you think that maybe that's not what I wanted? Did you think that maybe leaving hurt me more than what you thought?" he asked her impatiently.  
  
"Cory, don't talk about pain. Do you even know how hard it was for me to leave? That's not what I wanted either, but I know it's what we all want now." Topanga told him.  
  
"But why'd you have to go to Seattle?" Cory asked. They were both pretty much crying, not because they loved each other but because it reminded them of how dead their love was.  
  
"I wanted to get away from you as far as I possibly could so I wouldn't be reminded of us," Topanga replied. "And I thought it would hurt me, but it didn't." Topanga started walking away. "Don't argue with me, Cory," she said. "You know what I did was right." She turned around and left.  
  
And you know what? Cory wasn't sorry at all. Morgan stared at them with intentional sympathy. "Sorry," she said when he came nearer to Shawn and Angela and of course, Morgan.  
  
"It's okay," he replied, putting his arm around her. "I really don't care." He smiled at her. "Maybe we can catch the next bus soon."  
  
As they rode the long bus ride home, all Cory thought about was Topanga and Morgan. For one thing, Morgan was another Topanga, but better. He had a feeling that if he had to choose, he would choose Morgan. Morgan wouldn't just leave like that and not even say anything. Even though Topanga was right and she had done the right thing, it still seemed mean and not very thoughtful and inconsiderate. It WAS mean and inconsiderate.  
  
He was tired of his thoughts. They weren't helping him any. They were supposed to tell him whether or not he loved Morgan. But they weren't, they were just there. They weren't helping him accomplish anything but loneliness, impatience, and confusion. He was totally miserable; unlike he'd ever been when he was with Morgan.  
  
He thought of what would happen if the things he went through with Topanga he had to go through with Morgan. Would she react like Topanga? He sincerely didn't think so. Morgan had a noticed amount of sophistication that Cory had never seen before. He didn't know how to explain it. If he'd ever kissed Lauren and had it not meant anything when he was going out with Morgan, would she have acted like Topanga? Morgan seemed very insightful, like she would have been able to tell if it meant something or not.  
  
He turned to her. "Morgan?" he asked. She turned around to face him. "Do you know the difference between kissing someone and having it meaning something and kissing someone and having it NOT mean anything?"  
  
"Yeah," she said. "If you really, really love somebody, and you kiss someone else, it doesn't mean anything because you really, really love that person and that's all that matters. Especially if the person you kissed kisses you and you don't pull away, it doesn't mean you don't love the person you originally loved. Am I making since?" she asked. He nodded. "You thinking about Topanga?" she asked again. He kind of nodded and shrugged at the same time. He was, but Topanga was only part of it.  
  
"Listen," she told him. "I know how you feel. It'll hurt for like, a really long time. Then it'll go away. Then it'll hurt again. And then it will go away. And before you have a chance to hurt again, you don't care anymore. It's like you can't hurt anymore because all that pain, all that suffering, you've already felt it all and you can't feel it anymore." She smiled at him. "It doesn't make much since, but trust me. It's true."  
  
Meanwhile, Shawn and Angela were sitting in the two-person bus seat next to them, an aisle apart. Because of this aisle, Cory nor Morgan could hear what Shawn and Angela were saying. But Shawn and Angela could hear Morgan and Cory's conversation.  
  
"Do you think we should say something?" Angela asked Shawn. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Well, I don't know. I just think Cory's starting a relationship he shouldn't. Don't you think he should wait?" Angela asked.  
  
"No," Shawn said, still watching them. "I think that Cory needs Morgan a lot more than we think." He told Angela. "Why?" she asked. "Cory just lost Topanga. Cory loves Topanga a lot, but he doesn't anymore ever since Morgan came here and Topanga left. See, Cory has always loved Topanga. Always. Even when Morgan first came, he still loved Topanga. And then she left. No note, no explanation, no nothing except a phone call from her office saying she was on a business trip and it must've slipped her mind to mention anything. Then Morgan came back and Cory felt like - like instead of Morgan coming back, it was like Topanga had come back." Shawn explained. "I know you probably don't understand it, because I don't. But - I guess these things just happen." He sighed.  
  
Angela didn't understand exactly, but she understood most of it. The understood part being, of course, that Cory loved Topanga and now Cory loves Morgan because Topanga left. The part she didn't get though was the part when it was like Topanga coming back. Morgan was very original.  
  
"This whole love thing isn't making any sense," Angela exclaimed. "Yeah, I know," Shawn agreed. "I just don't get it. I mean, do they love each other, or not?" he asked her.  
  
"Shawn, they love each other more than anything. Morgan won't admit it, but I know she does. It's just; I don't know how to get her to admit it. I'm sure they can tell that they love each other, but neither of them will admit it. That's what's so frustrating!" Angela was so impatient about this whole thing.  
  
Meanwhile, Cory was back to thinking. His thoughts had answered the only question that'd be on his mind for awhile - does he love Morgan?  
  
His thoughts, of course, aren't very accurate, as you very well know. Thoughts can think anything you want them to. They can give you any serene amount of confidence. She is gorgeous, smart, and very talented at what she does. Why else would she have left for L.A.?  
  
But then why did she come back. It wasn't a question. Why, if she could have had a great life in L.A. and been very successful, did she come back?  
  
He pushed the thoughts to the back of his head. They were home, anyway. He didn't need to think about all this confusion. He needed to concentrate on absolutely nothing.  
  
The next day, he couldn't help but have the need to talk to Shawn about it. So he did, not knowing that what Shawn had to say could help him his entire life.  
  
Shawn, Cory, and Angela decided to meet at the Digital Hang Out. They were still going there even though everyone had to admit their favorite place was The New York Café. And see, if it weren't for Morgan, none of them ever would have gone there and they probably would have never tasted the food there and probably never would have fallen in love with the place.  
  
"Do you love Morgan?" Shawn asked the minute they sat down. Most everyone who went there was either at school or at work, so they were all alone in there, with exception of Mindy, who worked at Digital Hang Out.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Cory asked him. "Just what I said. Do you love her?" Shawn asked again, annoyed with his friend's stupidity.  
  
"It doesn't matter," Cory said. Shawn looked at him. The look on his face said plainly come on.  
  
"Sure it does. You need to get in touch with your inner child and then you'll get rid of your verbal inability to express your emotions." Angela reminded him. "Morgan explained it to me."  
  
Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, Cory thought. Is all they think about Morgan? I thought today would be different. Can't we talk about something else? I don't really want to be reminded of the girl who will never give me more than just a smile or a hug or something.  
  
At Morgan's apartment, all she could think about was the music swirling around her. She loved Coldplay, absolutely loved them. Her latest favorite, Clocks, was going around in her mind over and over again. It was a dreamy song that she just adored. It was a good thinking song - she could think about whatever she wanted and still be accompanied by the dreamy lyrics.  
  
Still, as the song slowed to an end, she pressed repeat and flopped down on her bed. She was tired of being accompanied by only herself. She wanted social activity. But then again, she was afraid she'd run into Cory. Lately, he'd been avoiding her for some strange reason. What had she done? What had she said?  
  
She remembered she'd forgotten to check her messages when she saw the flashing "3" on her answering machine. She smiled. Three messages? That was three more than she usually had.  
  
The first one was from a guy at her office that wanted to go out with her. She deleted it and decided to pretend she hadn't gotten the message. She hated all guys that worked in a fashion agency. Who does that? But then again, he was just the UPS guy who happened to walk into her office often with "packages", which were hardly ever actual packages.  
  
The second one was from her landlord. This one really got to her. It explained that she hadn't been paying her rent and if she continued this, they'd have to evict her from her apartment and replace her with customers who cared about responsibility.  
  
The last was from her boss. Unfortunately, they were cutting her salary 2/3. She would only get one-third of her usual salary. This was so unfair, until she realized, that two-thirds of her salary went to the rent money. If she didn't have that two thirds anymore, she'd be evicted.  
  
She turned the boom box off and sighed. She got online and sent an email to her landlord. Then she picked up her suitcases and started folding her clothes. She'd have to leave, there was no way she could pay now.  
  
What's a girl to do? 


	6. Will It Work?

Morgan Mendoza took a look around her apartment. She was going to miss it. But then she saw something that caught her eye. It was a picture of Angela, Shawn, Cory, and her. She didn't remember when it was taken or where for that, but she knew it was before she'd gone to L.A. - right after Christmas, maybe.  
  
She picked up the picture and sat down on her bed. She smiled as she touched Cory, Shawn, and Angela - as if they were really there with her.  
  
She imagined what they would say if she had told them she was moving. She could just think of Angela's reaction. "Sometimes, you can't wait for opportunity to knock, honey. You just have to rip that door off its hinges and tackle it in the street. Things might happen wherever you are going. It might be fun."  
  
Might was the keyword. It wouldn't ever be fun, because she wouldn't be with - the first person that came to mind was Cory. She felt guilty, but then she thought again. Topanga wasn't here anymore, and she'd made it perfectly clear she wasn't coming back. Who knows, maybe she'd eloped with Will (was that his name? She couldn't remember) and they were already expecting their first child. Cindy, or Kate, or even better, Morgan. Or if it was a boy, Spencer, or Brandon, or Cory were good names, as well as Shawn and Eric.  
  
Anyway, she was perfectly allowed to fall in this so-called "love". She stopped herself at that last thought. Love was nothing but an emotion that people thought they felt. When you fall in love, you'd only end up falling.  
  
But maybe it was like falling - you couldn't help it. She smiled again, and looked back down, but this time, Cory's face was blurred. Two seconds later, Shawn's was, then hers, then Angela's. She threw the picture at the wall as tears streamed down her cheeks. Who needed them?  
  
She lay down on her bed, tears still streaming. Had she felt like this when she'd moved to L.A.? Not as much. But then again, Cory'd been off- limits at that time. Now he wasn't. She could have him if she wanted him, but she couldn't, for some reason. It was too much. She'd wind up being another Topanga, and she didn't want to hurt Cory like that.  
  
The tears were annoying her and she was tired of the shadows on the wall. This time, her hysterical sobs were echoing because there was absolutely nothing but her bed, and herself.  
  
She got up and went into her "living room" and lay down on the floor. When you cry, you do strange things.  
  
She looked at the clock. Two fifty-five AM. She knew it was late, but she hadn't known it was that late. She wanted so desperately to call someone, but she couldn't. She didn't want to fall asleep, and she was comfortable in what she was wearing this afternoon when she'd had lunch with Cory and Shawn and Angela. When she'd had lunch with her friends.  
  
Her friends. The same people she loved so dearly were her friends. This was news to her, she hadn't had friends for years, unless you counted Cassidy but she hadn't talked to Cassidy in years.  
  
She continued to cry, but then she heard a noise outside. Suddenly, Cory, Shawn, and Angela bounded into her apartment.  
  
"Oh my God, Morgan! Are you okay?" Angela screamed. "Sh, don't scream, you'll get us all evicted," Shawn warned.  
  
"Too late for that," Morgan said in between sobs. "What are you talking about?" Cory asked her. "Apparently I can't pay my rent because the salary has been cut two thirds and the two thirds that I used to have of my salary went to paying the rent but since I don't have the two thirds anymore I can't pay the rent and so I have to move out but I don't know where to go because I don't have any family or any friends anywhere and even if I did I can't call them at 2:59 in the morning. OXYGEN." She said and sighed.  
  
"Okay, Morgan, hold on, Shawn and I will go get dressed and then we'll come back and talk about this more thoroughly." Angela said, and she and Shawn left.  
  
Cory looked at her and helped her up. "So you're leaving us," he said. "Yeah, I guess I am," she replied. "Do you want to?" he asked.  
  
"Heck no. I mean, you guys are my friends.I don't have anyone anywhere else. Where am I supposed to go?"  
  
He looked at her and she looked at him. Maybe it was the tragic moment in time, maybe it was the fact that Morgan still looked beautiful despite the tears, or maybe it was the fact that three AM is the magic hour of the night, when even the craziest things can happen and usually do.  
  
But whatever it was, Cory put his arms around Morgan's waist and - even though it sounds hackneyed - they shared the most beautiful and passionate kiss you could ever imagine.  
  
Angela and Shawn came in two seconds after it ended, and they didn't know. They wouldn't know - a look from Cory told Morgan that. But Morgan wasn't insulted; she'd given him the same look, so there was no reason to say anything - at all.  
  
So they talked for hours about - stuff. About how Morgan would be leaving, about how different it would be without her, and then they started laughing. Lots of laughs.  
  
And at 6, Morgan knew it had to end. She had to leave before they came and threw her out.  
  
Too late, though - the landlord knocked on Morgan's door. "Hello, Morgan Mendoza?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, that's me, I know, I'll go." Morgan said, sadly. She sighed and hugged each and every one of them. "I'll miss you," she said to each of them.  
  
They exchanged warm words, such as "Keep in touch!" or "I won't forget to write and call!" but Morgan knew they were empty promises. Nobody ever remembered to write or call, and neither did she. And keeping in touch? She wished.  
  
The landlord left to remind other people that they had to leave, too, and Morgan wasn't crying - surprisingly. She held up a hand in an immobile wave and turned.  
  
Like a bolt out of the blue, Cory got an idea. "Morgan!" he yelled. She didn't want to turn around - it would be too sad. And normally, she wouldn't have, but for some reason, this was an exception. She turned around.  
  
"You can move in with me!" he suggested. "We have an extra room." Angela looked at Cory and smiled. What an idea, she'd have never thought of that. But then again, she didn't love Morgan. Well, she did, but only like a friend. It was hard not to love Morgan as a friend.  
  
Shawn too was surprised, but Morgan was shocked. It was the kind of shock that made you stand there and just gawk at the person with your mouth open and your eyebrows raised like, "Really?"  
  
"Yeah, really," Cory said, as if he was reading her thoughts. "Well, I don't know. I mean." her voice trailed off.  
  
"Come on, Morgan. Where else do you have to go? I mean, you don't know anyone anywhere to move in with. And we'd all love if you stayed here," Angela pressed.  
  
Morgan had to smile. Leave it to her friends to think of something like that, something as simple as that yet with so much power.  
  
"Uh-huh, sure," she said. "Like you guys really want me to stay."  
  
"We do!" Angela replied.  
  
"We really do. Nothing exciting has happened here until you came. Absolutely nothing. I mean, we've all been living our lives normally until you got here. Then everything weird happened. Everything. It's - really, really different, but I like it." Cory said. It was either now, or nothing. He had to keep talking or else she'd leave. And this time, she probably wasn't coming back.  
  
"You can talk all you want, but I know you don't want me to stay." She said. Why was she being so difficult? She knew in her heart that they wanted her to stay, she knew SHE wanted to stay. So why was she being difficult?  
  
"Morgan, you taught us a lot. It's really hard to teach people these things, but you do." Shawn told her. Shawn had barely said a word through this whole goodbye scene, so he felt it efficient to say something.  
  
"Plus, your designs are FABulous. I don't know WHAT I'd do without them. I mean, everytime there's a formal occasion, all I do is ask you for an exclusive preview of the Mendoza Line, and there's always something there." Angela added. Yes, Angela had a "Thing" for Morgan's designs. See? I told you everyone did. And if I didn't, then sorry about it, and here: Everyone has a "thing" for Morgan's designs.  
  
"You guys really really want me to stay?" she asked. "No, Morgan, we hate you," Angela said in a sarcastic tone.  
  
"Um, okay. But, Cory, I have to ask you a question," she said. "Does the extra room have a big closet?"  
  
He smiled. "Yeah, I guess it does. Oh, and there's also a room for your studio. It's a pretty big apartment."  
  
Morgan laughed. "Cool. I guess I'll go pick up the mannequins I ordered, then. See you," she said.  
  
"No, why don't you unpack, first?" he asked. She smiled again. "I guess so, why not?" She headed into his apartment and unpacked all her stuff. But she never picked up the mannequins that day, or the next day.  
  
"Listen," Cory said one day. "I think we're going to have to lay down some ground rules. Number one."  
  
"Cory?" she said. "Don't interrupt me. That's number one." He replied. "CORY!"  
  
"WHAT?" he asked. "You're drinking my milk," she said, and took the carton of milk away. He glared at her.  
  
"You earlier that we had all labeled our stuff. See, there's an M on the carton. That implies it's mine. MINE. M for me. M for Morgan. M for mine."  
  
It was going to take awhile to get used to the living arrangements. 


	7. No Rebuttal

Morgan sighed as she slowly flipped the channels on the TV. She had to admit, living at Cory's apartment had been - different. For one thing, she had to follow his "ground rules". They had each taken over the refrigerator by labeling their "things" with the initial of their first name. She was only allowed to drink or eat the things labeled "M", and he was supposed to stick to his side of the bargain by only drinking or eating things labeled "C".  
  
Let me just say, this did not work out well at all.  
  
Morgan had to drink her coffee black because she had run out of HER milk. Cory had to eat his cereal dry because he had run out of HIS milk.  
  
And then there was the fact that EVERYONE thought they were married. They weren't; they were just roommates.  
  
Morgan settled for the made-for-TV movie marathon on Lifetime and slowly settled back into the pillows on the couch. This was a lap of luxury for Morgan; when you're an amateur fashion designer right out of college, you don't make much money. Morgan's couch was not as nearly as comfortable as this one was. And poor Cory, he had no one to share it with.  
  
"What are you watching?" Cory asked. "Oh, nothing, just the made-for- TV movie marathon on Lifetime," Morgan replied. "Another one?" he asked.  
  
She turned around, obviously ruffled by this remark. "Ex-cuse me, but I happen to know that Lifetime doesn't have these movie marathons very long. Besides it's over."  
  
"Fine. What's on now, Miss I-Think-I-Know-Everything-And-Control-The- TV-Because-Cory-Was-So-Nice-Enough-To-Let-Me-Move-In?"  
  
"Long name, but - ooh! Golden Girls!" she said, squealing. "You can't possibly tell me you LIKE this show." He told her.  
  
"Cory, here. I give up. I'm going to do some work in the studio. Have time, will work." She said, giving him the remote.  
  
"Morgan, I don't think this living arrangement is working out," he said. "You're right," she replied. "But hey, you were the one who offered, weren't you?"  
  
It was fine, despite their little arguments. But what was going to be worse was only just starting and beginning.  
  
Shawn and Angela, however, didn't notice their little fights. Well, okay, let me rephrase that. Angela noticed them, Shawn didn't. That's a little bit more obvious. Angela noticed that Cory and Morgan argued about EVERYTHING - but Morgan always won with literal statements or sarcasm.  
  
"Hey, Cor," Morgan said when he walked in from work. "You're not eating those, are you?" he asked, pointing to the chocolate covered strawberries.  
  
"Um, no, Cory. I just took them from the kitchen and put them down next to me on the couch and ripped off various parts of them to make it look like I had eaten them. Of course I ate them! What else do you think I did?" she said sarcastically.  
  
"Morgan! Those were supposed to be for the guys!" he hissed. "What guys?" she said, imitating his voice.  
  
"The guys I'm bringing from work and their wives! The wives eat the strawberries!" he hissed, but a little less hiss this time (if that makes any sense at all).  
  
"Oh. Okay. Well, I'll make new ones. It's not hard." Morgan said. "Come on. These people eat gourmet meals every single day. I think they know the difference between store-bought and gourmet."  
  
"There is no difference, except you pay a little bit more for the other one. And besides, Cor! It's easy! They'll never find out, it tastes the same." Morgan said, and picked up her jacket.  
  
"What are you doing, it's hot outside, you don't need a jacket." Cory noted. "I didn't ask for a weather report!" Morgan said as she left the room.  
  
Well, the guys came, and no they didn't notice the difference (nor did they notice Cory cringing as they took the first bite). However, there was one slight problem.  
  
The minute the first couple came in, it was a total mess. "Oh, dear, you two make the sweetest couple! How long have you been married?" the first woman asked.  
  
"Umm.Cory? May I see you in the kitchen, a moment?" Morgan asked. She dragged him into the kitchen.  
  
"First of all, who are these people?" Morgan asked, obviously tweaked at something. "That's Lydia, and the guy is Jeffrey, they're the people I work with. The other five couples will be coming soon." Cory replied.  
  
"Why do they think we're married?" Morgan asked, still tweaked. "Because, I don't know, it's been, like, twenty years since they got out of college and they still don't know the difference between roommates and soul mates. But please, Morgan, you have to pretend we're married!"  
  
"Why should I?" Morgan asked, challenging him. "Because I need it! Badly!" he said. "Okay, okay, this marriage thing won't come without a price." Morgan told him.  
  
"Five dollars?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Fifteen?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Forty-five."  
  
"You're losing me here."  
  
"Fifty?"  
  
"What, I couldn't hear that!"  
  
"I'll let you watch whatever you want on Lifetime! Even that show with Fran Drescher!"  
  
"Mmmm.oh, okay." She said. She wanted more, but she didn't know what, so she settled for that.  
  
"Hey! I need something too! I have to pretend I'm married to you all weekend!" Cory protested.  
  
"What? You didn't tell me it was all weekend!" Morgan spat out like it was some of her bouillabaisse.  
  
"Well, it wasn't, but whatever. Now, listen, what are you going to give me?" he asked her.  
  
"Sixty?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Seventy?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Eighty?"  
  
"What are you talking about, you don't even have that much money. You're a fashion designer, what are you talking about."  
  
"I won't talk for a week!" Morgan suggested desperately. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "I now pronounce us man and wife," he said, taking her arm.  
  
If you asked anyone now, they wouldn't know. Even Shawn and Angela wouldn't know, which is surprising. But somehow, Shawn and Angela wound up at the dinner party.  
  
Between courses, Morgan and Cory would shuffle into the kitchen and argue about, well, just about every topic on the planet. Shawn and Angela, however, had to witness this, and Angela felt the need to speak to Shawn "outside and in private".  
  
"I just think we either need to jumpstart it, or end it, and I'm serious here." Angela said (referring to, obviously, the relationship that isn't a relationship of Morgan and Cory).  
  
"What are you talking about? They are so in love with each other it's unbelievable. I mean, look. They're even pretending that they're married!" Shawn said as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe.  
  
"No, Shawn, it's not unbelievable. They fight all the time! Besides, they're only pretending their married because Cory's going to let Morgan watch whatever she wants on the Lifetime channel and Morgan's not going to talk for a week."  
  
"They don't fight all the time." Shawn protested. They both looked into the kitchen through the glass doors, where both of them were fighting with each other. He looked at Angela hopelessly. "People who love each other fight a lot. They really do."  
  
"Whatever," Angela said. "I just want to get this relationship started. They make the cutest couple and I know they would be happy together."  
  
"Yeah, me too," Shawn agreed. "But I mean here they are roommates and they're fighting over everything!"  
  
"Well, maybe we just have to jumpstart it a little. Maybe they're fighting because they think the other one wants them to argue with everything they say."  
  
"You know, even if that made sense, it would be stupid." Shawn told her. "People who love each other don't fight because they think the other one wants them to."  
  
"Shawn!" Angela said, so loudly it startled him. "You have to realize that this is real life! It isn't TV! Human emotions can run so out of touch with the real world that it could lead to unavoidable combustion. We need to keep their feelings with each other so locked up that they can't possibly let the other one know how the other one feels about that one. You get it?"  
  
Shawn didn't, but he pretended he did, for Angela. "So what are we going to do?" he asked her.  
  
"Oh, I already have a plan. In a situation they can't get out of, anyone will say anything at all just to save their own skin." Angela told him.  
  
"We're going to threaten to kill Morgan and Cory?" Shawn asked, surprised. "No, we aren't going to threaten to kill them. We're going to corner them, though, and make them admit that they love each other. Then, we'll get it on tape, and turn it into each other." Angela explained.  
  
Shawn didn't know how they'd do that, but Angela was really smart and always right, and he'd learned never to argue with her.  
  
"Without the rebuttal from my spouse because that's the kind of husband I know you'll be," she said, scaring him, "we're going to do it and it's going to work. This relationship won't ever fly without our help."  
  
"Ok, ok," Shawn said, and they both walked back into the dinner party. It might take awhile, but it would be worth it.  
  
Wouldn't it? 


	8. The Turn of Fate

Morgan woke up in a cold sweat. It's all a dream, she thought as she comforted herself. It was only a dream, and it's not real.  
  
A dream? She thought. This was a nightmare! In it, she had relieved the car crash that killed her friends. Why was she still thinking about this? She'd moved onto better things!  
  
"You know, your accent gets thicker when you're asleep," Cory noted. He and Morgan were sitting in the kitchen, across from each other. "Cor-y! Why'd you let me fall asleep?" she asked.  
  
"You seemed tired, it seemed like a nice thing to do." He told her. Okay, it was a nice thing to do and she was grateful towards him. Still.  
  
"Is everyone still here?" she asked. He shook his head. "No, everyone left, even Lydia and Jeffrey."  
  
"What? I thought they were staying!" he said. "They were, but, well, I told them not to. Because you wouldn't have anywhere to sleep."  
  
She smiled at him. "Well, okay, fine with me, I guess. Look, I'm going - somewhere. Anywhere but here."  
  
"Why?" he asked her. "Because I just am!" she replied, annoyed. She was annoyed with herself, annoyed with her thoughts, annoyed with Cory, annoyed with life in general.  
  
"Morgan, I absolutely refuse to let you out of this apartment!" he said firmly. This surprised her. "Why?" she asked softly.  
  
"Because - it's dangerous out there. And besides, I - I - I need help," he said. She raised an eyebrow. "With what do you possibly need help with?" she asked him. "You're a pretty independent person. Everytime I tell you that you need help, you always say, no I don't." Okay, well, she was right about that.  
  
"Yeah, well, I just don't want you going out there at two o clock in the morning," he told her. She gasped. "Two in the morning? You've GOT to be kidding me!" she looked at a clock.  
  
Oh, Lord. It was two in the morning. "Cory, why am I having these dreams?" she asked him. "Don't ask me, I wouldn't know. I never studied dreams, I always thought it was a waste of time trying to decipher people's dreams." He told her. He has a point, she thought. Maybe that's why I didn't.  
  
"What kind of dreams are they?" he asked, obviously interested. "I keep relieving - the day," she said. He instinctively knew exactly what she was talking about.  
  
"It's only natural to relive a tragic day in your life in dreams. It means you have unfinished business - like there's something you meant to do years ago but never did and it was important, and now it's haunting you. If you don't take care of it, it'll haunt you for the rest of your life. But - don't tell anyone I know that," he said.  
  
She smiled at him and raised an eyebrow. "So, how exactly do you know that?" she asked. "Umm, never mind. Listen, Morgan, are you going to bed?" he asked her.  
  
"In a minute," she replied. "Me neither," he told her. "So what are we going to do for a few hours while we wait for the time to get on with our lives?" she asked him.  
  
"I don't know," he replied. "Maybe just - do stuff."  
  
"What kind of stuff?" she asked him. "Well, I might as well start working on the article. And you have to work on that series of dresses they wanted you to do for the Kate McNair Gallery." He reminded her.  
  
She moaned - like she always did. Cory couldn't help but notice that she was beautiful, even at two in the morning, after she'd been sleeping.  
  
"Cory!" she said suddenly. "What did you mean by an accent? I don't have an accent. You guys have accents." She noted.  
  
"Oh, come on, Morgan. Like you don't know. You have a small English accent. Don't tell me you haven't noticed." ************************************************************************  
Meanwhile, Angela and Shawn were hidden outside the door to Morgan and Cory's apartment. In Angela's hand was a small tarantula. Shawn seemed nauseous, but he tried to pretend like it didn't bother him.  
  
"Okay. Review the plan again!" Shawn said. "What we're going to do is I'm going to let this spider go, because I know how much Morgan hates spiders. Then, you'll take Cory into another room and tell him that until he admitted he loved Morgan, you wouldn't let him go. I'll do the same to Morgan." Angela told him.  
  
"But - what does the spider have to do with anything?" he asked. "Oh, that's easy," she said. "Morgan hates spiders, so, if she knows there's a spider loose, she'll say anything. Anything at all! Now, take this," Angela said, handing him a tape recorder. "You'll catch Cory on tape saying he loves Morgan, and I'll do the same." Angela opened the door slightly, and let the spider in. "Okay, go in, little spider," she said, nudging it a little.  
  
On cue, Angela ran in, yelling, "Spider!" Shawn seemed kind of confused during the whole thing, but no one noticed. Morgan screamed and jumped up on a chair. Shawn grabbed Cory's arm and dragged him outside.  
"Admit you love Cory and I'll take the spider away," Angela said. "No!" Morgan screamed. "Say it, say it!" Angela egged Morgan on.  
  
"Fine I LOVE CORY! NOW TAKE THE SPIDER AWAY!" Morgan yelled. Angela did so. "Yes, I got you on tape saying you loved Cory!"  
  
"Wait a minute. I didn't say that I loved Cory because I meant it. I just said it because you wanted me to say it." Morgan pointed out.  
  
Angela sighed. What were the chances that Shawn's results were the same way? "Morgan, I know you love Cory. So just admit it! You two are already living with each other! Now all you have to do is tie the knot and it will be totally, totally perfect."  
  
"For-get it!" Morgan said with passion - but Angela didn't believe her. "Listen, if I had never admitted how I felt about Shawn how do you think we would've gotten where we are today?" she asked.  
  
"Okay! Okay! Yes, I admit it!" she said. "You admit - what?" Angela asked. Morgan sighed. "I admit that I love Cory," she said, defeated.  
  
************************************************************************  
Meanwhile, Shawn was having pretty much the same luck - hardly any at all. Cory refused to admit it.  
  
"You know what? Maybe I should just give up and go home," Shawn said finally, irritated at his friend and Angela.  
  
"Why?" Cory asked. "Because all you're doing is lying to me. Angela says friends don't do that to each other. And you know what else? I don't care that Topanga and you aren't together anymore because you two don't belong together. You want to know the people that belong together? That's right, you and Morgan. You two belong together because you know that the minute you saw her, you knew this would happen so don't try to act surprised, okay? This was meant to happen! And I was meant to yell at you like this. Cor, look at me, look at Angela, look at you, and look at Morgan! Look at what I have, look at what you have! You have a golden opportunity to grab the person you love and you're just letting it go by without even thinking about it! Topanga is GONE, Cory! She's gone and she's not coming back! So get over her! Look at Morgan because she's here! You two love each other! You may not admit it but you do! Get over Topanga! Open your eyes, Cory! The same girl that you know you love is right there in front of you and you don't even notice it! Topanga is GONE and Morgan is here! Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know what you should do." And with that, Shawn left, furious at his best friend for not understanding.  
  
Morgan and Angela were concerned because they had heard Shawn shouting (but they hadn't heard what he was saying). They both rushed out of the door.  
  
"I hope he remembered that we can get thrown out," Morgan noted. "I don't think he did," Angela said, "because I sure wouldn't yell like that if I had remembered."  
  
Cory, however, stood there, stunned. Shawn was right - Topanga was gone and he had to get over her. Cory thought he had, but it took Shawn yelling at him to realize that he hadn't. No wonder he wouldn't admit his feelings for Morgan - he was still upset over Topanga.  
  
"Morgan!" he said. "How - how do you get over someone you loved a lot?" he asked.  
  
"You - you have to look deep inside and realize that living life like that isn't what you want. You have to realize that sometimes, even though you really loved the person, they're gone and it's not really what you want to sit around waiting for them. Sometimes an even better person is right there in front of you and you didn't even know it. It's hard, and it takes a long time. But it works. And you feel even better afterwards."  
  
Cory shifted position and felt something in his pocket. That reminded him. He had to think fast. Should he do it? Or should he just ignore it and pretend to be ignorant?  
  
He thought about what Shawn said. Shawn was right - he shouldn't let a "golden opportunity" pass him by.  
  
It was three o clock by now, and as I think I've established the fact before, three o clock in the morning is the weirdest time of all. This is because no matter what weird things that wouldn't happen any other time could happen at three.  
  
And as the clock ticked from 2:59 to 3:00 AM, Cory sighed. "Morgan?" he said. She looked at him.  
  
"Yeah?" she replied. And Angela thought she felt a tingling, predicted feeling - like something excruciatingly important was going to happen at that moment.  
  
Shawn came running up at that moment, too, and stopped just to hear the four words that changed the past, present, and future forever.  
  
Cory sighed again, hoping he wouldn't trip over his own words. He'd never done this before, and the suspense of everyone was killing them (Except for Morgan, who was totally oblivious to the fact that everyone was holding their breath except for her.)  
  
"Morgan?" he asked again. Angela and Shawn looked at Cory like they were about to kill him.  
  
"Yes, Cory?" Morgan replied. She figured something strange was going on, but didn't particularly care at the moment.  
  
"Will you marry me?" 


	9. Torn Between Two Lovers

When something happens that only has to do with a few people, yet bystanders understand it, things can be pretty amazing. I mean, how people react is pretty amazing. Especially (like in this case) when things happen at three in the morning.  
  
It depends on how long you've been reading this story about Morgan Mendoza coming into Cory's life and "ruining" everything (or, really, making it better). If you've been reading it from the beginning, you'll know that Topanga left Cory. And you'll also know that everyone assumed she was gone.  
  
Now, this is a lesson you should learn while you're young, because it becomes a habit when you're older. For one thing, you should NEVER assume ANYTHING. The reason is because absolutely positively no matter what, the chances that you are wrong are still there. Even if they're unlikely, they're still there.  
  
Morgan, Angela, Shawn, and Cory learned this lesson. But then again, they were in their twenties - so, it sort of made sense that they had a habit of assuming things.  
  
Well, I'm sure if you've been reading this wonderful truelove tale about Morgan Mendoza finally finding friends and all that mushy gushy crap, you'll know that Cory just proposed to Morgan.  
  
Now, do I really have to tell you what she said? Because I'm sure you already know. The chances that you would be right are 50 to 50, because there are only two answers. Unless, of course, she invents one, like, "Maybe" or "I'm not sure, ask me later". But these aren't really answers, these are used to stall for time and a question as important as that, you just don't say "Maybe". You either take it or leave it.  
  
Before I tell you, YOU tell ME - what do you think Morgan said? Now, come on. Be real here. This is "real life". Anything can happen.  
  
Keep in mind, also, that Morgan Mendoza wasn't exactly the best decision maker in the world, okay? She's a fashion designer and she isn't exactly the sharpest crayon in the box. She's pretty insightful and intellectual, but under pressure, she cracks faster than...well...I don't exactly know at the moment. But she cracks pretty fast.  
  
Oh, and remember it's three in the morning, too. Okay, it's not really three in the morning. It's actually a few minutes after three, since it took some time for Morgan to look around at Shawn and Angela and think for a moment. She was really only doing this to add suspense. But she was partly trying to say, "Yes" or "No" without the accent. Now that she knew people noticed her small English accent she developed when she lived in England for two years (which is long enough to develop an accent for Morgan, plus, she grew up around British people) she was very self- conscious about it.  
  
So let's recap, shall we? Morgan could have either said yes or no. Morgan isn't the sharpest crayon in the box. Cory just asked Morgan to marry him.  
  
Oh, and there's one small detail I forgot to mention. Don't worry; this detail isn't crucial to the story at all. In fact, it has absolutely nothing to do with the story at all. It doesn't change anything, and the fact that this detail arrived at the most crucial moment in the history of Cory and Morgan's life doesn't matter at all, because the detail doesn't matter!  
  
Hah. Yeah, right.  
  
So I'm sure you're wondering what the detail is, right? Well, the detail is this: wait, no. I can't tell you yet. I have to tell you exactly what everyone was doing.  
  
Cory was waiting in suspense. Shawn was sneaking worried glances at Angela, and Angela was returning those glances. Angela also had her mouth open, still in shock. And occasionally she would raise her eyebrow, a habit she had adopted from Morgan.  
  
Morgan opened her mouth to say her acceptance or rejection (I'm not telling you yet, don't think I'm that stupid), and everyone was waiting in agony and suffering for the answer.  
  
Which was why no one was really that surprised when Topanga (now officially) Lawrence walked up at that very second.  
  
"Hey, Cory!" she whispered loudly. Shawn and Angela rolled their eyes at each other and Morgan's mouth closed. Cory rolled his eyes.  
  
Angela was thinking, "Of course this had to happen. This is just totally our luck. Morgan is about to announce her acceptance or rejection of this thing she's wanted for three years almost, and Topanga walks up and spoils everything."  
  
Shawn was thinking: well, actually, he had 50 Cent's "In Da Club" stuck in his head. But when he saw Topanga, the song was whipped right out and instead he thought, "Oh, my, God."  
  
Cory was thinking: "Great. Just my luck. Thanks, Topanga, thanks a lot."  
  
And Morgan? Morgan was still trying to remember who that was. But otherwise, she was thinking: "Where do I know that person.?"  
  
I guess L.A. really washes your brain out and makes you forget the people that really mattered to you.  
  
"Topanga! What are you doing?" Shawn said, trying to make Cory and Morgan forget that she was here. Too late.  
  
"I came back...I wanted to see you guys...you don't mind, do you?" she asked, suddenly worried.  
  
"Why do you care? Why aren't you with Will?" Angela asked teasingly. "Oh, huh? We never got married. We broke up because...long story. Anyone think we should go inside? I think most people are sleeping." Topanga replied.  
  
"Actually, we were in the middle of something..." Shawn told her. "Oh, I hope I'm not interrupting anything, am I? I'm incredibly sorry if I am. You guys just continue, and pretend I'm not even here." Topanga said.  
  
Everyone looked at her. "Oh, was it something I shouldn't know about? But then again, you guys are all...oh. Hi, Morgan." She said.  
  
"Hello, Topanga. Are you...visiting for a week or so?" Morgan asked. She always tried to be nice to people. Hey...I said tried.  
  
"No, actually, I was thinking, if Cory doesn't mind, if I could move back in with you guys. I really missed all of you in D.C." Topanga said.  
  
"D.C.? I thought you were in Seattle," Cory replied. "D.C., Seattle, same thing. It's exactly like raspberry and strawberry. Anyway, do you mind, Cory? I don't really have a place to stay."  
  
This, as you can obviously tell, ruined everything. "Actually, no vacancy," Angela informed her. "Really?" Topanga laughed. "Who?"  
  
Being in Seattle or D.C. or wherever she was really turned her mean, Cory thought. "Umm...it's me..." Morgan said, her voice trailing off. She said it in a question form.  
  
"Are you asking me, or telling me?" Topanga said snobbily. "My God, Topanga, what is with you?" Shawn asked.  
  
"I know! Who are you and what have you done with my former best friend? Because whoever you are, it most certainly isn't Topanga Lawrence!" Angela said, shaking Topanga's shoulders.  
  
"I am Topanga Lawrence, duh. I just haven't exactly taken to Morgan the way some people have. Listen, Morgan. You may think you fool some people but you don't fool me. I know who you really are and what you really want. You want to steal the person I really love." Topanga said firmly.  
  
"Umm...sorry to inform you, Topanga, but no one really thought you were coming back," Cory admitted.  
  
"Umm...maybe she's tired?" Morgan guessed. Angela nodded. "Yeah, you just need to sleep a little. Come on, into my apartment. Cory and Morgan need to t-a-l-k TALK." Angela told her.  
  
Angela and Shawn ushered Topanga into their apartment, but Shawn couldn't help feeling anxious. What was Morgan going to say?  
  
So, about now I think you know that Morgan could have either said one of two things (well, obviously). She could have either said yes or no - each one had an equally fair chance. However, as seconds in the minutes in the hours of the clock ticked slowly away, things were thinning out - chances that Morgan would say yes were getting lower and chances she'd say "No, Topanga's here now," were getting a lot higher.  
  
Cory was confused, too. Now that Topanga was here, was everything Shawn said - erm, yelled - to him wrong now? The main part of it all was that Topanga was gone. But now that she was here, should he just withdraw the question? Would Morgan even answer it, anyway? Topanga had come at exactly the wrong time.  
  
"Are we just going to stand outside, or...?" Morgan asked him. "No, we aren't, we're going to go inside like normal people." Cory answered.  
  
They went into their apartment and without a word, went to sleep. Umm, no, never mind. They went to their bedrooms. They never fell asleep. No one except Topanga was able to fall asleep. Angela thought all night about what would happen. Shawn thought pretty much the same thing, as well as Cory.  
  
But Morgan's thoughts were a lot more complex than that. Not only did they involve plenty of different things, they also involved branches - like a tree. There was the trunk of the tree, which was the proposal.  
  
Then it all stemmed out into different questions, and then it branched out into different things. The Tree of Morgan's Thoughts is way too complex for me to even begin to write, so I won't.  
  
But Morgan was unsure about what she should do. If she accepted the proposal, then Topanga might feel bad. But if she refused it, then everyday she would wonder what would have happened if she had said yes. She didn't want to wonder. She wanted to know.  
  
But did Cory still mean it now? Did he still love her, even with Topanga there? Topanga was a beautiful person, that was true. Everyone admitted it, whether they were married or unavailable or whatever. Even the people that hated her admitted it.  
  
But then again, they also admitted it about Morgan. Except, Morgan didn't know this because she's Morgan, and you don't often know when people say you are beautiful.  
  
Morgan found herself in the dark. Not just literally, but in the mind, too. Why was she doing this to herself? She deserved better. She just had to know if Cory still meant what he said.  
  
She loved him. No, it wasn't just that. There was a difference between loving someone and being IN love with them.  
  
Naturally, she was in love with Cory Matthews. I mean, Morgan loved Angela and Shawn - they were her friends. Everyone loves their friends, especially if they are as good of friends as Angela and Shawn.  
  
But she was in love with Cory Matthews. And it didn't take a genius to recognize it. It didn't take a rocket scientist to recognize it. It didn't take Albert Einstein to recognize it, although Morgan wouldn't have known because she didn't know if Einstein ever got married or what. If he was the smartest man that ever lived, did he ever fall in love?  
  
No, he couldn't have, Morgan told herself. Only fools fall in love. And that's what she was - a fool. She wasn't as smart as everyone thought she was, because she, Morgan Mendoza, had fallen in straight, plain, old love.  
  
She remembered before any of this had ever happened. Strike that. She tried to remember. She couldn't. She tried to remember when she had first fallen in love with this person that was currently torn between two lovers.  
  
She couldn't. She couldn't even remember their first kiss. When had it been? Had it been right after she'd returned? Had she been in the lobby, having coffee? She thought so, and if she was wrong (which, she bet she was)...  
  
This scared her. You should remember the first kiss of someone you loved. You just did.  
  
No, she remembered it. She hadn't been paying attention to when or where she was, but she remembered it. She had wanted to stay in that moment for as long as she lived.  
  
She relived that moment, then sighed. "Why can't I relive that moment in my dreams?" she asked herself. "Why do I have to constantly relive the car crash?"  
  
"I get it!" she said, louder than she had wanted but she didn't care. "I get it now! See, I relive the car crash because it means that I'm not over those people, but I will be if I..."  
  
For a second, Morgan Mendoza had understood it all.  
  
But then, she had lost it.  
  
The next day, Morgan "awoke" before Cory. She went into the kitchen and fixed herself a cup of coffee.  
  
He walked in there. "Oh, you're already awake?" she asked. "Yeah, I've been up for a long time." He told her.  
  
"No, you didn't fall asleep either, did you?" she asked. "No duh. I've been up thinking all night. I don't see why everyone has to think so much." He said. "Well, you know what I mean."  
  
"Yeah," she smiled. "So. Are you happy Topanga's here?"  
  
"Not really," he said. "She kind of ruined everything. Now I have to deal with her, not to mention everything else. Really screws it all up."  
  
She smiled at him again. He was right. "So..." she said. They both knew what they wanted to ask, but none of them wanted to say it.  
  
"Morgan, I meant what I said earlier," he said, but the words didn't come out. In fact, his mouth didn't even move.  
  
He stared at her again - but tried to pretend like he wasn't. She was beautiful, she was all dressed in purple, in pajama pants and a tank top that showed part of her stomach. Her long brown hair sort of draped over her shoulders and framed her face. She leaned over and reached for her glasses and put them on.  
  
"I don't remember seeing you in glasses," he noted. "Oh, well, I haven't put my contacts in yet." She said.  
  
"You really need contacts?" he asked her. "Um, well, no, not really, but I got them anyway. I can see fine without them. It's just, all my friends got contacts and glasses, so I did too, and then I just sort of got hooked on wearing them." She explained.  
  
He decided now was the time to do it. "Morgan, I meant what I said earlier," he said. "I really, really did. And I think that no matter who comes and interrupts, I don't think that has anything to do with how I feel about you. I don't care about Topanga. She left, and you didn't. You stayed here. You could've left, but you didn't. I mean, how many job offers have you gotten since you came here? Twenty?"  
  
"Twenty one," she replied, ashamed of the fact that he knew about them. "And they were all for different places. You could have moved to anywhere in the world. Paris, London, Sydney...anywhere. But you didn't, you stayed here." He continued.  
  
"Yeah, so?" she asked. She knew what he was getting at, but she tried to keep her cool.  
  
"So...I asked you once but I think I have to ask you again. Morgan, will you...will you marry me?"  
  
They both looked towards the door at the same time, but no one came in.  
  
"Yes," she said. "Yes, I will."  
  
And at that moment, Topanga walked in the door.  
  
Again. 


	10. What Light Through Yonder?

"Hello, Topanga. That's a nice sweater," Morgan noted. She always tried to say something nice.  
  
"Uh-huh, whatever," Topanga replied. "Topanga, what's with you? Why are you being so mean?" Cory asked her.  
  
"I'm not being mean," Topanga said. It was all Morgan could do not to laugh. "Actually, I'd be nicer, if SHE wasn't here." Topanga said, motioning to Morgan.  
  
"Listen, Cory, not to be rude or anything, but I was kind of hoping that, you'd take me back." Topanga suggested.  
  
Cory stared at her. Morgan pulled her left hand up to tuck the hair behind her ears, and what, surprisingly, caught the light?  
  
"Oh my God. Is that a very important ring on a very important finger on a very important hand?" Topanga said, panicking. "No!" Morgan said, trying to hide her hand. Too late.  
  
"Cory! What...oh...well...tell me it's not..." Topanga was lost for words. She finally found the right ones - "How could you DO this to me? I come all the way from Seattle just to see you and this is how you repay me?"  
  
"Actually, Topanga," Cory corrected, "you shouldn't have left in the first place. Then it would've all been okay. I mean, you made mistakes, mistakes that can't be fixed."  
  
"No! They can be fixed! All you have to do is tell me that you love me and not Morgan and.I'm wrong, aren't I?" she asked, sadly.  
  
"Yeah, I think you are," Cory said, almost as sadly. Neither of them were exactly very happy...they were both sad because they both knew no matter what they did, nothing could be redone.  
  
"But...I thought we were supposed to be together for the rest of our lives," Topanga said. She was sounding very upset, and you couldn't blame her.  
  
"We will. We will. We'll be friends the rest of our lives. But, Topanga, sometimes things don't work out the way we want them to."  
  
"I don't want to be friends, Cory, I want things back before she came!" Topanga said. Morgan, sensing the fact that she didn't belong in this conversation, kissed Cory on the cheek and left.  
  
"Cory! Don't you get it? I don't like Morgan; I don't want to be friends with her. I want to be friends with you without her. I don't want her in my life. Why can't we just go back to the way things used to be? Live a normal life! Without Morgan, the British Fashion Designer!"  
  
"Well," Cory said, "she's not British anymore. She's losing the accent, she only has it when she's asleep."  
  
"So she's your roommate?" Topanga asked, even more sadly. "Topanga, what did you expect me to do? Wait around until you came back? I didn't want to do that with my life, Topanga. We didn't think you'd come back. Okay? We just thought...that you'd be gone forever. Then you decide to come back and assume that all time stopped while you were gone. Well it didn't, people moved on and people fell out of love and in love again. I don't know who you are or what happened to you in Seattle but Angela's right. You aren't Topanga anymore, you're different and I don't like that. But Morgan will never change."  
  
At that moment Angela and Shawn walked in the room, and smiled. Cory rolled his eyes. "Doesn't anyone know who to knock in this place?"  
  
"Well, no, but we don't have anything to tell you. We just came in here for absolutely no reason at all," Shawn lied.  
  
"Oh, yeah. There's nothing wrong." Angela said. "What's wrong?" Cory asked. "You know you're terrible liars, right?"  
  
"Yeah," Angela agreed, "but there is absolutely nothing wrong. Nothing, except for the fact that, you know Morgan?"  
  
"Yeah," Cory said slowly, trying to understand what they were getting at. "Well, she left," Angela said.  
  
"Left? Left where?" Cory said, panicking. "She didn't say," Angela said. "She just said she was leaving, she'd be back soon, and then she gave me this. She told me I was supposed to give it to Topanga."  
  
This all seemed to have been done in slow motion. Angela pulled her right hand out, and opened her cupped fingers. It glittered at first, but then Angela moved her hand slightly so that everyone could see what it was.  
  
It was a ring, the same ring Morgan had been wearing.  
  
Topanga squealed and slipped it on, then kissed Cory. "Things are back to normal! Morgan's gone and she practically told us to get married! The universe loves us!"  
  
Cory, however, didn't have the same reaction. He was confused. He had so many mixed feelings it felt like if they were any more mixed, then they'd be unable to classify. He was upset, disappointed, unsure, but most of all: heartbroken.  
  
"Morgan didn't leave...forever, did she?" he asked. "I hope not," Topanga said. "Finally, a load off my mind. Now we have to clean this place up."  
  
"I don't think so," Angela said, ignoring Topanga, who had started Lemon Pledge-ing the place. "I think she just left to go you know. Clear her mind and everything."  
  
"If you're right, I know where Morgan is," Cory said. "Really?" Shawn asked. Cory nodded. "Yeah, really."  
  
He grabbed his car keys and ran off. It was getting cold, even in October, which was strange.  
  
Five minutes later, he wound up at The Digital Hang-Out. Not surprisingly, there weren't that many people there - only a few. But then again, it was 10:00, and the rush hour was 8.  
  
However, there were a few. He entered the coffeehouse not so carefully and looked around. There, in the back, was Morgan.  
  
She was beautiful; no one could argue that. But there was something wrong. Instead of where her perfectly placed mascara used to be, she seemed to have washed it off (but Cory didn't notice this, of course. He just thought there was something wrong.)  
  
"Hey," he said as he sat down next to her. She looked surprised. "What are you doing here?" she asked him quietly.  
  
"I came back," he said. "I knew you'd be here."  
  
"Why'd you come back, I mean, I figured, since you and Topanga..."  
  
"I came back because I don't love Topanga."  
  
"Yeah, you do. I'm just backup to you, aren't I. I'm just replacing Topanga. Tell me you don't love me."  
  
"Why would I do that?"  
  
"So that I can leave. So I can go back to wherever it is I wanted to go and not even have to worry about it."  
  
"You'll worry about it."  
  
"No, I won't. I just want to leave. I want to get in my car and get far, far away from here."  
  
"Why do you want to leave? I've been so close to losing you twice, and that's two too many times."  
  
"Just tell me you don't love me."  
  
"I can't."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I don't want to lie to you."  
  
Morgan had to stop and think about this. He may be right. Maybe they were all just making a huge deal out of it, and that it didn't really matter what anyone thought.  
  
"So why's Topanga here?" she asked finally.  
  
"I don't know, I guess...I guess Topanga's not like the rest of us. She thinks that after awhile things will all be the same. Morgan, answer a question for me. Will you ever leave like Topanga did?"  
  
Morgan stopped again. She wouldn't, that was her first instinct. But how did she know that there wouldn't be another Morgan Mendoza, coming back in to the life of Cory and Shawn and Angela and disrupting everything? She and Topanga didn't agree, but how did she know that they would agree when it came to something like this?  
  
"Things like this only happen once in a lifetime," Cory replied. "They only happen when the universe isn't happy with the way things are going. So the universe, in desperate attempts to help other people, sends another person down to help those people. You helped me, Morgan. You showed me that life isn't always so serious and you have to take time and stop and smell the double lattes with skim milk. And you also taught me that sometimes, a miracle can happen and you won't even know it."  
  
"When did I teach you that?" she asked. "When you came back from L.A.," he answered. He must be right...when she did come back, when she didn't stay and stick it out, maybe that was...  
  
"Stop!" she said, suddenly. "I'm...I have to be in another place entirely." She said. She climbed out of the booth and practically ran out of the coffeehouse. Luckily, Cory caught up with her.  
  
"You don't get it, do you?" Cory asked. "I don't care about Topanga! She doesn't matter me to me! What matters to me is that you'll stay."  
  
"I'll stay if you let me go," Morgan said. Cory hadn't realized it - he'd been holding onto her arm.  
  
"You also taught me," Cory said, realizing that not only could he not let go of her, he also couldn't stop talking or else she really would leave, "that you shouldn't settle for the one you can live with, you have to go for the one you can't live without."  
  
"You've lived without me for all your life except three little insignificant years, what does it matter?" she said hysterically. For some reason, Morgan was scared and now she was crying.  
  
You'll probably know by now that it always seems to rain when important things happen. This is funny because rain usually signifies something terrible, like something terrible is about to happen. For instance, the only example I can think of is when Shawn and Angela were outside the Digital Hang-Out, kissing. It was raining then, I'm pretty sure. But this wasn't bad; actually, Shawn and Angela played an important role in getting Morgan and Cory together. So you'll know that when it starts to rain here, not only is it important, it's not bad, either.  
  
"It matters, trust me, it matters," Cory said, but he didn't quite understand himself.  
  
There was a clap of thunder, and like on cue, the rain began to fall. Slow and steadily at first, but then, quicker and quicker until you could hardly see your hand in front of your face.  
  
Which was why, actually, it's a wonder how Morgan and Cory looked into each other's eyes and saw the only thing that was there: love.  
  
Love isn't measured by how much you have. It's by how much you feel for one person, and who that one person is. If that person is worth it, you'll know it.  
  
And when Cory held Morgan in his arms and they looked into each other's eyes, their hearts did little flippy things - which Morgan had previously learned was frisson - and they both knew it was worth it.  
  
Morgan was still crying, Cory was still afraid that if he didn't do something right then and right now he'd lose her forever this time.  
  
At that moment, Topanga, Shawn, and Angela drove up in Topanga's silver BMW.  
  
It's a wonder how anything that involved seeing happened, since in a storm as bad as this you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Yet, Topanga could see well enough to drive, Morgan and Cory could see well enough to see into each other's eyes and fall in love.  
  
Oh, that reminds me. You know how sometimes, you realize you either like someone or love someone, or hate them, but you never really know when that was decided and when your heart and your mind decided on this, and they never consulted you about it?  
  
Well, when Morgan and Cory looked into each other's eyes that moment, they knew it was decided. They knew that both their heart and their mind decided it was okay to fall in love with the other one, and you know what? They actually didn't care what their mind and heart decided: It was fine with them.  
  
Still, it's also a wonder how Morgan and Cory were able to kiss each other (I know, again!) and this one, I'm sure, topped all the other ones they've had.  
  
And Topanga, Angela, and Shawn had to witness it all.  
  
It's also a wonder how Morgan got the ring back on her finger, since both of them were drenched from head to toe.  
  
No, you know what?  
  
It isn't a wonder.  
  
It's a miracle. 


	11. If It'd Been A Snake

Once they were both finally dry, each one of them felt different things. I'm sure you're wondering what these different things were, so I'll tell you.  
  
Morgan was feeling lucky. How many girls in the world had a fiancée that had been in love with one girl, but fell in love with another one instead? She also felt loved. If Cory hadn't loved her that much, he wouldn't have come back to get her.  
  
Cory was feeling torn. Either he breaks Topanga's heart or break Morgan's. Part of him said that Topanga he'd loved for all his life, and he thought he owed it to her to at least give her an explanation. But there was no explanation except he loved Morgan. But a bigger part of him said that Topanga had broken his heart, and it's only fair for him to move on. Plus, the world wasn't fair; Topanga would just have to learn that.  
  
Angela was feeling fulfilled. She had pushed Morgan and Cory right into each other's hearts. She had no idea that they had kissed like that only a few other times, so she felt that this was very good.  
  
Shawn was feeling mixed up. His best friend was suddenly falling in love with another girl, and getting re-married. This was different for him, and he suddenly felt like nothing else in the world would be the same. But we'll get to his story later.  
  
Topanga, however, was feeling broken-hearted and confused. She had been so sure that Cory would take her back. She thought Morgan had left for good when they had met each other at the dress show. She thought Morgan wouldn't dare mess with Cory if she had a chance of showing up again. But oh, had Topanga been wrong. And the kiss that she had just witnessed hurt her even more. There was no way that she would ever be able to live like this. It was impossible. However, Topanga wasn't thinking suicide. She was thinking revenge, major. There had got to be a way to get Cory to love her. This wasn't Topanga; the real Topanga usually wasn't as jealous. But these were special circumstances, not only had she had her husband torn away from her, he was getting re-married.  
  
Needless to say, Morgan and Angela were really the only ones who were feeling remotely happy.  
  
Morgan wasn't in the living room like most of them, were, though. She was looking through her studio (the at-home one).  
  
"Guys, a big part of me has been lost." She exclaimed.  
  
"Me too," Topanga murmured.  
  
"I mean, how could this have happened?" Morgan asked. She flopped down on the couch next to Cory, very upset.  
  
"I don't know," Topanga said.  
  
"I was so sure of it!"  
  
"We all are in the beginning."  
  
"Who knew?"  
  
"I'm sure that, though, if you look deep inside of you, the person that really knows is you."  
  
"Topanga, what are you talking about? I'm talking about my dresses! They're missing! Someone took them!"  
  
This woke everyone up. Everyone knew that Morgan's dresses were special, unique, and full of talent, and that if someone had them, it would have had have been stolen.  
  
"What? I was talking about - never mind," Topanga said, feeling stupid. She was sure her face was red, sure of it!  
  
"Topanga, you don't know where they are, do you?" Morgan asked frantically. Everyone was scurrying around the apartment - which was pretty big - looking for the dresses.  
  
"No," Topanga lied. Actually, she did. She had stolen them as an attempt to get Morgan back.  
  
"But...but...but...I worked so hard on them!" Morgan whined. She was so mad. How could she have been so careless?  
  
"It's okay, it really is, I mean, you still have the designs, right? You can just make new ones." Cory assured her.  
  
"No, I can't! Everytime you make a dress of the same design it always turns out different. It takes you a ton of tries to get them right! There were thirty dresses! I worked for months on them!" Morgan complained.  
  
Thirty dresses...Months of working on them...the thoughts echoed in Topanga's head. She decided to be the hero in this, and possibly have Cory love her again.  
  
"I'll go check outside in case someone hid them there," Topanga said. It didn't make much sense, but no one noticed. Shawn and Angela were looking everywhere, and Cory was still comforting and caressing Morgan.  
  
"HERE THEY ARE!" Topanga yelled. Morgan rushed outside. "Oh, my Gosh! There they are! How'd you find them?" Morgan asked. "How'd you know what they looked like, anyway?"  
  
"I...I kind of stole them..." Topanga suggested. "Yeah, right, seriously," Angela said, laughing. Suddenly, everyone was laughing. They didn't believe her! She had gotten off the hook!  
  
"Come on. Let's forget about it and go out to dinner or something," Shawn suggested. He was feeling better now. "No, I don't feel like eating," Morgan replied. "What are you talking about, Morgan, you've hardly eaten anything at all!" Cory explained.  
  
"No, I've eaten some things," Morgan replied defensively. Angela raised an eyebrow. She suspected something.  
  
"Like...other things," Morgan said. "Oh," Cory and Shawn said in unison. But Angela wasn't so sure.  
  
"You know what? I'm going to...I'm going to go change," Morgan suggested. "And I'll help her pick out what to wear!" Angela said, suggesting a hint of needed help.  
  
They went into Morgan's room. Angela sat down on Morgan's bed while Morgan picked out jeans and a pink snake-print top.  
  
"Did you make that?" Angela asked. "Yes, I did, see?" Morgan said, showing her the tag. "Veritaz!" It said.  
  
"Cool," Angela replied. "Ah! I cannot get these jeans buttoned!" Morgan said desperately.  
  
"They're just jeans," Angela said, laughing. "You can't have possibly gained any weight, you eat like a bird."  
  
"Well, gee, thanks!" Morgan said. "Yes! I got it. Come on, let's go, I'm sure the guys are wondering where we are."  
  
"Morgan, have you ever thought of the fact that...you may be pregnant?" Angela asked. Morgan laughed and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Girl, please. Let's be real here." Morgan said, and she grabbed her purse. "Come on."  
  
Angela wasn't as convinced. Still, she followed Morgan reluctantly. What could she do?  
  
At the restaurant, Angela seemed to be the only one who noticed Morgan didn't eat any of her food, and only sipped her water. It wasn't normal, even though Morgan DID eat like a bird, usually she ate more than that.  
  
"Umm...I have to...bathroom?" Angela said, grabbing Morgan's wrist and nodding her head towards the ladies' room. Morgan, catching the hint, nodded too and got up, following her.  
  
The ladies' room was filled with people, so Angela did the only thing she could think of. "Ladies, I think the mayonnaise on the hot dog I had earlier today was bad, so I hope to be excused for any discomfort I may cause you. And, if you have any perfume, I'd spray it now."  
  
Everyone ushered out immediately, totally grossed out, until Morgan and Angela were the only ones in there.  
  
"You watch That's So Raven too, huh?" Morgan asked. "Only when there's nothing on," Angela agreed. "Listen, Morgan, you know what I said earlier about you being pregnant? I was being serious."  
  
"No, way, Angela. You've got to be nuts." Morgan told her.  
  
"Right. Listen. You couldn't button your jeans; you have no interest in food. Actually I remember you saying earlier that the thought of food made you sick."  
  
"The thought of food does make you sick. Did it ever occur to you that I could be anorexic?" Morgan hissed.  
  
"No, because, you don't gain weight when you're anorexic. You lose it. Now listen, Morgan. When we get back, I want you to come into my apartment. We'll make up something so that Shawn will stay with Cory. I have an error-proof pregnancy test there. We'll see whose right and whose wrong then."  
  
Angela smiled an "I know it" smile and walked out. Morgan shivered. She was kind of scared to know. What if Angela was right?  
  
But Morgan knew better. She couldn't possibly be that irresponsible. Could she? She headed back to her seat, uneasy.  
  
Every now and then, Angela would kick Morgan, as a reminder. Morgan wasn't sure why, but Angela knew better...Morgan had dazed off again into her thoughts and Cory, Topanga, and Shawn were starting to question her behavior.  
  
Morgan didn't eat through appetizer, dinner, or desserts and no one except Angela was really sure why.  
  
Angela had smartly suggested that they finish dinner off with a movie, so Topanga, Cory, and Shawn had all filed into Cory and Morgan's apartment. Morgan wasn't really paying attention after that, but...she did know that suddenly, she walked out of the bathroom.  
  
It was blue.  
  
"Whoa. You're already in your second trimester and you didn't even realize it. Wow." Angela said, surprised.  
  
"We are not telling anyone about this, okay?" Morgan said.  
  
"But you two are getting married."  
  
"Well. Yes. But that's not the point." Morgan said, defeated.  
  
"Listen, I just think...but hey. You do what you want. Who am I to say?" Angela said.  
  
"We won't tell him until after we're married."  
  
"But come on! You'll probably have the baby before you two are married, because seeming as Topanga's here...things might complicate just a bit." Angela saw Morgan's murderous glaze. "Just a bit!"  
  
"Listen, Angela. I'll tell him when I want to. Okay? By the way, we'll have to go shopping for maternity clothes."  
  
"Ooh! Morgan Mendoza, shopping? Have I ever heard that before?" Angela said, surprised. Usually, Morgan didn't shop she made her own.  
  
"Yes, I am going shopping. After years, it's about time I started. I don't even own a credit card, really. I guess I'll have to apply for one. I won't have any time for designing once the baby comes." Morgan said, sighing.  
  
"This is really amazing. It's a miracle." Angela said wistfully. "You are so lucky. Are you excited?"  
  
They started walking back to Cory and Morgan's apartment. "No, more like scared. I mean, we can't afford a baby."  
  
"Sure you can. And I'll be there every step of the way." Angela said.  
  
"Hey, Morgan," Cory said, making them both stop straight in their tracks.  
  
"Except for, right now." Angela said, whizzing off in the opposite direction. Great, Morgan thought. I'm going to have to face Cory all by myself now. 


	12. I Do, I Don't, I Do

A/N: Sorry it's so short! There will be more, though, so don't worry!  
  
While all of this was exciting to Angela, Morgan wasn't enjoying it that much. Everytime Cory came near her, her pulse quickened and she could feel herself getting nervous. It was too much for her.  
  
But how could she tell him?  
  
After awhile, though, it got easier. They started planning the wedding. Still, she was pretty scared. She was starting to show, and, if she didn't tell him soon he'd probably guess it.  
  
She decided one day that this wasn't the real Morgan. Morgan wasn't scared of anything - she was pretty fearless. Except for a car crash dream, she had no weaknesses and could withstand anything.  
  
But she couldn't just blurt it out. Not spontaneously like that. Even though she was a spontaneous person.  
  
"Cory..." she said one morning. Angela and Shawn and Topanga were in their apartment, and Angela was supposed to help her.  
  
"Cory...I...I'm pregnant," she said suddenly. Angela smiled, Shawn and Topanga and Cory gasped.  
  
The silence was deafening. Angela was just proud of her friend for just coming out and saying it. "Wow." Was all Cory could say.  
  
******************************************  
They went to the doctor to see and sure enough, she was five months and two weeks pregnant. They were both very happy, but then, problems arose.  
  
"Maybe it's another reason to get married," Cory suggested.  
  
"There are lots of good reasons to do stuff, but it's not always the right solution," Morgan told him.  
  
"Well, maybe this one is." Cory replied.  
  
"Maybe it is," Morgan told him, "but I highly, highly doubt it."  
  
He smiled at her. "Okay! Okay! I give in! It is!" she said.  
  
"So, no matter what Topanga says, we will get married?" he asked her.  
  
"Yeah," she said after hesitation. "Yeah."  
  
It was a beautiful wedding, except for the fact that it rained. According to Angela, it was supposedly bad luck, but Morgan didn't care. She loved rain, and so far it hadn't been bad luck, so she didn't see the point in complaining about it.  
  
Topanga didn't even mind. Surprisingly enough, she was happy for both Cory and Morgan - that they'd finally found each other and they were so right for each other.  
  
However, Angela and Morgan were still trying to find out the mysteries. "How could you have been in your second trimester and you didn't even realize it? I mean, didn't you get sick?" Angela asked.  
  
"No," Morgan said truthfully. "I really didn't." It was strange...it really was. But then again, Angela assumed it could happen. Especially with Morgan, anything could happen with Morgan. Mostly miracles. So that's where the nickname Miracle Morgan arrived.  
  
Cory's parents were thrilled - a little surprised, but thrilled nonetheless. There are only a few things to tell you before I move on to the heavier stuff.  
  
The wedding was very, very small. This was because they didn't have much time to plan it. Morgan had designed bridal gowns previously and used one of her designs, but then decided it wasn't her and just wore jeans and a t-shirt.  
  
A very, very casual wedding indeed.  
  
And everything was going great - until that one fateful day in her ninth month. 


	13. Sad Endings, Better Beginnings THE END

*A/N: You can pretty much ignore this author's note, it's for all my friends out there who read but don't review because they're too lazy to get fan fiction accounts (shame on you). But then there are some who just don't like writing, although Shannon you can write poetry! Except some parts you should read, but when it gets personal and sentimental if it bores you that's okay. But about the story. Sorry, I know it seems rushed, but you know how it is - when you get inspiration, you just have to get up and go. I would have liked to drag it out longer, but I have a couple of other fan fics I need to finish and update and write and etc., so this one is my second oldest (other than The Miracle) so I just needed to finish it. You just need to do some things, you know? I know I know it seems so rushed and it's bothering me, I feel like I could have dragged it out a lot longer. But then again, Morgan had a peaceful pregnancy; let's just say that, okay? Up until this point in time. Urg, the whole thing is bothering me now, the rushed thing, because I know how much people hate rushed stories. But then again, Cory winding up with anyone but Topanga is just kinda weird and I knew I just had to finish it. If you must review, I give you permission to, but don't say anything about the rushness (my word) of it all because I realize that and I seriously tried to drag it out, I spent years thinking of alternate endings. But this one was the only one that seemed right. Plus, I knew from the start it wouldn't be too great. I don't know what possessed me to continue it. Probably the fact that all my BMW- lover friends wanted me to continue it, but hey, anytime you introduce a made-up character that people can't picture or visualize into the story and give her a crucial role like the one Morgan had, it doesn't work as well as if Morgan had been replaced by a one-time guest starring role (like the girls in The Beard, remember that one?) Well you guys here at fanfiction.net might be different, I don't know, I just know from experience I've had on other, now-closed websites. The wanderer wandered no further when she stumbled onto fanfiction.net! And now it's ending and I'm soooo sad...but hey, what else can I do? ( Definitely not as long as I had wanted it to be (I was aiming for more than five pages long) but who cares. I worked a little longer on it than usual because it's the ending, ya know? Yeah, it's the end. I was planning on working on something else starring Morgan and Cory and Shawn and Angela, but then I decided no, I should just end it here and now. I also was thinking about doing a fic about Samantha and Crystal (read to find out who they are), but I also decided no. Since both Crystal and Samantha are my characters, I'm assuming anything about them would be under the original fiction section. But then again, if they starred Cory and the rest of the BMW cast, maybe not...oh, well, I don't know, this is my second fic out of three and it's just pretty confusing even still! But thanks for the reviews. I know it sounds really, really corny but if it weren't for you guys I probably would have stopped the story here and then and not added anything! But I do have to thank all the people that reviewed. ( I will definitely get around to reading your fics and reviewing them. I live for reviews so I will definitely do that (Hey, it's on my To-Do List...) Plus it's summer so I have a lot more free time. I will continue writing fics about Boy Meets World; so if you're crazy enough to like my stuff, don't worry. Ah, long author's note, but I have lots to say. ( Tee-hee. Anyway, thanks to my inspirations: Shannon, Sierra, and Justin. In the slightest way you inspired this entire story. All hail to my BFFs and my ex! You guys are the coolest! (Eat more chicken, a car walked by, Oh my Gosh is that him?...LOL...) Also Maddie, you inspired this by writing fan fiction for Harry Potter and sending it to me. Although I kinda started the trend that one fateful summer...tee-hee...Sunnie lives on in our hearts and our minds! Not our emails though, I think enough people deleted them to count it as a retired fiction. So in a way, this was Maddie's idea, although she didn't really know it. And Shannon and Sierra - you are my best, best friends and I'm so excited - Honors Band rulz! Justin - oh my God what do I say about Justin. Well, just keep acting and thanks for being an unknown inspiration. Most exes wind up hating each other but we sure didn't. Thanks for giving me a summer to write about. Isn't it funny, though? Isn't it ironic (it's like rain on your wedding day, it's a free ride when you've already paid...)? It's hard to believe it was almost a year ago - but whatever. You know that poem that she wrote that was for you - Relationships last a summer, but friendships last for longer. Isn't that more of a couplet? LOL. Good, you're still reading this. Well, I'm still babbling on and on and on, pretty soon this entire first page will be an author's note. Oh, my goodness, I've bumped everything down to six pages. Whoa. But I'm still not done yet! I have to thank my sisters, Amy and Ashley. If it weren't for your addiction to Sister, Sister I probably never would have come up with the arguing between Morgan and Cory. But thank you to Ashley - you seem to love the name Morgan, so that's definitely where I got Morgan's name! Amy thanks for coming up with the name "Crystal" and "Cassidy" for Angela's daughter and Morgan's friend. You know now it hit me, I should've come up with characters that were named after you! Crystal and Samantha should have become Amy and Ashley. Ah well, what's done is done. So thanks to 1. my reviewers 2. my sisters 3. Shannon 4. Sierra 5. Justin 6. Maddie. You guys are all great! Oh, and if I've forgotten you, I'm sorry. Thanks, (your name here)! Whoa well I spent an entire page on my note, I should shut up now! Luv alwayz~Sarah Charlotte  
  
*To the story:  
  
Topanga tripped her.  
  
She didn't mean to and said she was very sorry, but she did. She did it on accident but the consequences were much worse.  
  
"We lost the baby," Morgan said. Cory had entered the hospital room and she was sitting up in the bed, sad.  
  
"It's ok," Cory assured her. "We lost the baby. That's what they said. Like it was my car keys or something. Like I just set it down and forget where I put it." Morgan seemed like she was in daze. Cory assumed she was telling herself more than she was telling him, because she wasn't looking at him.  
  
"It was supposed to be a girl," Morgan said. She then looked at him. "A girl."  
  
He didn't really know what to say. Morgan was obviously sad. "This whole thing, it, it seems really rushed," he told her. "I know," she replied. "I mean it doesn't make sense but I know what you mean."  
  
He smiled at her. This wasn't Morgan, but he knew that she'd be the old Morgan soon. "Maybe it's all for the better. You know?" he said, looking up at her.  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked him. She was obviously confused - this was hardly making any sense to her.  
  
"Well, you know. I mean, despite what you think, we'll have more time to grow up. You know, we're not adults yet. We're still pretty young and we still have a lot more time to grow up."  
  
"We're over eighteen and twenty-one. You aren't making any sense."  
  
"But still. You have to know what I mean. And look at the bright side - you'll have more time to design clothes and everything. I mean, I know your business isn't exactly hitting but soon you'll be seeing Morgan Mendoza all over America."  
  
Another thing - Morgan hadn't changed her name. Not only because she was a well-known designer under this name, but also because ever since she'd read The Princess Diaries, she didn't believe in the cult of patriarchy and refused to change her name. Also, the only Morgan Matthews that there should be was Cory's younger sister. The one who died when she was only a kid.  
  
Morgan smiled at Cory. It was at that moment when Cory realized it. This was the Morgan he loved. He could detect a hint of Topanga every now in then - so Morgan was basically his dream girl. Topanga plus Morgan all in one was definitely the one thing he needed.  
  
Shawn and Angela came in at that moment, followed by Topanga. "I'm so sorry, Morgan," Topanga said (again), but Morgan just smiled at her. "It's okay. Seriously. Cory helped me realize that maybe a baby wasn't the best thing in the world right now."  
  
"A baby is God's opinion the world should go on," Shawn said, quoting Carl Sandberg, was it? Morgan couldn't remember. "There will be more opinions. Just none from me for a long time." Morgan told him.  
  
Now we're going to play a game for the fun of it. You pretend you're Morgan for a second. I'll tell you how you feel and how you act and what you do, and that way you can get a better taste of Morgan.  
  
You watch everyone laugh. Topanga sits down on your bed and apologizes again. You say it's okay (again), and tell her it's not her fault, it happened on accident. Then you ask Shawn to hand you your sketchbook. He does.  
  
You rip out a page. "Here, Topanga," you say. You hand her the ripped out page, which is ripped out perfectly. "You can have these. Decide which one you want and I'll make it for you."  
  
She smiles at you and then her expression changes. "Why are you doing that for me?" she asks you. You smile mysteriously. You notice there are lots of smiles going around.  
  
"Because...I'm thinking I should do something nice for somebody right about now," you respond and smile again.  
  
Ok, game over.  
  
For the first time in a long time, Eric walked into the room. At once, no one knew what they'd say. I mean, they hadn't seen Eric in a few years and it was definitely strange and different.  
  
"ERIC!" Topanga screamed and hugged him. They exchanged a quick, friendly kiss and it was hellos all around. No one seemed to care that Morgan couldn't get up. Even Morgan didn't care. He bent down and kissed her and they sort of semi-hugged. Well, it was good for the position that Morgan was in.  
  
"I'd get up, but the nurses told me not to," Morgan explained apologetically. "Don't even worry about it. I'm not worth it." Eric said, and sat down.  
  
"Whoa. It's sort of weird. I mean, you and Topanga, not together." Eric said, aiming his comment at Cory.  
  
"Yeah, well, whatever. Differences, I guess." Topanga explained.  
  
Don't believe me about this whole thing? Don't blame you. I wouldn't believe myself, actually. I mean, we really knew things were starting to get a little freaky when Cory found out he was in love with Morgan. A little suspicious when they got married, and we all knew that things were out-of-this-world unbelievable when she was pregnant with Cory's baby.  
  
But you better start believing. If you passed Morgan or Cory on the streets today, you wouldn't recognize them. Well you would - but you wouldn't recognize all the things they went through together.  
  
Still, I definitely think that sitting in there, in Morgan's hospital room, was pretty much the most fulfilling thing Morgan had ever witnessed.  
  
Everyone gave suggestions for names that they could have named the baby. This made Morgan feel sad but at the same time glad - she NEVER would have been able to pick. Ever.  
  
Parker, Lindsey, Jorie, Andrea, Hilary, Katie, Claire, Jacqueline, Josephine, Melody, and Melanie were just a few of the suggestions. There were tons more. Tons of them.  
  
Not long after that, both Jack and Rachel appeared. Morgan had met them, but didn't know them that well.  
  
Yeah, I'd say it was definitely a reunion. Definitely a reunion, indeed.  
  
***************  
Five years down the road, Cory and Morgan were still in love with each other. Morgan's business had boomed and was very successful. She and Cory could afford a mansion...but they never moved into one.  
  
Actually, they were still living in Vista View Apartments. Why? Because. Their friends were there. Home is where the heart is, and their hearts were definitely at Vista View Apartments.  
  
It was hard to believe that eight years ago, Morgan and Cory had first met each other. But they had.  
  
I'll tell you about Morgan and Cory's life right now. But I can't tell you all of it, because when you're Morgan Mendoza, some pretty confusing things happen. You'll just have to fill in the holes yourself.  
  
Morgan and Cory have a three-year-old daughter named Samantha. Angela and Shawn have a three-year-old daughter named Crystal. Crystal and Samantha are best friends. Oh, and both Crystal and Samantha are about to be big sisters.  
  
Topanga eventually fell in love with another guy named Jake, and they are both currently living happily.  
  
Wanna know a secret?  
  
Topanga still has the dress that Morgan designed for her and only for her.  
  
Wanna know another one?  
  
Topanga wears it all the time.  
  
Morgan, however, has a great job. She's still designing clothes, but put the sewing part on hold. She actually hired a 30-year-old woman, Maddie, to do it for her. So it's Morgan and Maddie, both happily working for Crystal Samantha, Inc.  
  
Another thing - Morgan started her own label. Yep, that's right. Crystal Samantha is currently the highest selling label of all in New York, which is kind of strange.  
  
Guess who's feeling bad now? Yep, Morgan's boss. Who's got the last laugh? Right again, Morgan does.  
  
You guys may be Jack/Rachel/Eric fans, so I'll tell you about what happened to them. Jack became a successful businessman who knew Bill Gates personally and supposedly will carry on the business when poor Bill Gates kicks the bucket.  
  
Eric and Rachel got married, surprisingly, and lived happily ever after. Rachel is writing children's books, and Eric owns his own company now.  
  
Angela writes articles for Art in America, and Shawn writes articles for Rolling Stone. They're both writers. Oh, and Angela has even taken up painting and paints frequently. Her inspiration? Crystal and Samantha, best friends for life, and they're only three years old.  
  
Soon it'll be the anniversary of when they lost the baby. Everyone's sad on that day, but no one speaks of it. The reason? Because losing the baby was probably the best thing that happened. To any of them. Because now, they're successful and loving and caring and better off than they probably would have been.  
  
And look. There wouldn't have been a Samantha Matthews-Mendoza. And it's likely there wouldn't have been a Crystal Hunter, either.  
  
Everyone learned a lesson in this. I've been researching and trying to figure out what the lesson was, but anyone who knows is either unreachable or dead.  
  
But I'm going to make a hypothesis.  
  
My guess is that what Morgan, Cory, Angela, Shawn, Topanga, Eric, Jack, Rachel, and everyone else learned is that we don't always get what we want. We don't always get what we wish for and sometimes we get things we don't want.  
  
But everything, no matter what it is, no matter how horrible it seems at the time, or how wonderful it seems minutes, hours, days, weeks, years from now...it's always a miracle in disguise. 


End file.
